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HEREWARD CARRINGTON 







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EUSAPIA PALLADINO 

AND HER PHENOMENA 
By HEREWARD CARRINGTON 



Eusapia Palladino 

AND HER PHENOMENA 



BY 



HEREWARD CARRINGTON 

AUTHOR OP 

"THE PHYSICAL PHENOMENA OP SPIRITUALI8M," 

"VITALITY, PASTING AND NUTRITION," 

"THE COMING SCIENCE," "HINDU 

MAGIC," ETC. 



# 



NEW YORK 

B. W. DODGE & COMPANY 

1909 






Copyright, 1909, by 
B. W. DODGE & COMPANY 

Entered in Stationers' Hall, London 
All Rights Reserved 



Printed in the United States of America 



■ } n1^ 



'CIA 251908 












THIS BOOK 

IS LOVINGLY DEDICATED 

TO THE MEMORY OF MY FATHER 

E. C. CAEEINGTON, F.E.G.S., F.E.A.S., F.E.S.L. 

AS A TOKEN OF MY RESPECT AND ESTEEM 

FOR HIS UNRECOGNIZED 

GENIUS 



PREFACE 

While much has been written in France and Italy con- 
cerning the remarkable woman who forms the subject of 
this book, but little has appeared either in England or 
America — with the exception of M. Flammarion's work, 
Mysterious Psychic Forces, and a series of articles that have 
appeared from time to time in the English edition of the 
Annals of Psychical Science. Yet the case is one of the most 
remarkable that has come to the attention of the scientific 
world for many years — since we are concerned, apparently, 
with movements of physical objects without contact, and 
even far more startling phenomena — contrary to the known 
laws of physics and physiology. 

In the following book I propose to lay before the reader 
a summary of all the historic evidence available, together 
with a detailed record of our own experiments with this 
medium, conducted in Naples, in November and December, 
1908; a complete resume of every theory that has been ad- 
vanced to date — with a provisional hypothesis of my own; 
and then to discuss at some length the biological and psy- 
chological peculiarities of the case — from the point of view 
of one who assumes, on the strength of the existing testi- 
mony, that the facts are established. 

One forms a very different opinion of Eusapia's seances 
before and after he has obtained personal sittings. Before, 
although I was vastly impressed with the cumulative evi- 



viii Preface 

dence, I was far from being irrevocably convinced — an atti- 
tude which I occupy to-day. I had given a rapid survey of 
the Palladino case in one of my previous books, The Physi- 
cal Phenomena of Spiritualism, saying in part: 

"And thus the matter stands: One half the world is con- 
vinced that Eusapia is a fraud, and the other half is con- 
vinced that the phenomena witnessed in her presence are 
genuine! What the ultimate verdict will be it is hard to 
foresee; but it is certain that the case, as it stands, is not 
convincing to the scientific world, and fresh evidence must 
be forthcoming if the case is ever to be decided in her favor. 
If Eusapia possesses genuine mediumistic gifts, it ought only 
to be a matter of time and sufficiently careful experimenting 
in order to establish that fact." 

Professor Morselli took occasion to make this the text 
of a lengthy reply to my book (appearing in the Annals of 
Psychical Science, August-September, 1908), based on his 
seances with Eusapia, in which he said: 

"I hope and believe that my voluminous work on Palla- 
dino's spiritism will give a satisfactory answer to the dis- 
tinguished American psychist, who is so severe on physical 
mediumship, and only accepts as valid, in general, the bygone 
categories of the historical phenomena of spiritism. He is 
guided by the preconceived idea that in the earlier times, 
from the Fox Sisters to Home, the physical phenomena were 
more authentic, because then the mediums did not copy one 
another and mediumship was confined to the spontaneous 
revelation of new biopsychical forces, without the interven- 
tion of mimicry. . . . 

"Now it is hazardous to express judgments on a powerful 
but variable medium like Eusapia on such slight documentary 
evidence; but Mr. Carrington, like all the English and 
American psychists, is still under the impression received 
from the check at Cambridge, caused by an excess of rigidity 



Preface ix 

in the interpretation of the movements of the medium's hands 
and feet. We have the obsession of trickery by the substi- 
tution of one hand for the other, according to the formal 
accusation made by E. Torelli-Viollier against Palladino in 
1892, at the time of the celebrated experiments in Milan, 
at the house of M. E. Finzi. And in reality, in America 
also, where the conjuring ability of mediums has reached 
the highest degree, the trick of the freeing of one hand from 
the chain of controllers is practised every day by charlatan 
mediums, who are very numerous there. I append two very 
significant illustrations which Mr. Carrington has inserted 
in his book, . . . which show very plainly the method of 
deception used by mediums for evading the surveillance of 
the controllers to right and left; with the freed hand they 
are able to produce touchings, raps, noises, slight move- 
ments of objects, apports, etc. . . . 

"Mr. Carrington, whom I still quote for precaution, for 
he is not only a firm believer in immortality, but also a 
psychist of authority, assumes an attitude of extreme distrust 
when he says: 

" 'It is not only probable, but certain, that the vast ma- 
jority of modern occult phenomena are fraudulent. I am 
disposed to believe that fully ninety-eight per cent, of the 
phenomena, both mental and physical, are fraudulently pro- 
duced. . . .' 

"No critic or skeptic, were it Dr. Hodgson returned to 
earth, could ever convince me that, in a long series of seances 
with Eusapia, and especially in the last ones of 1906—7, I 
had only seen, in all, two genuine phenomena in every hun- 
dred! This is my opinion, and I live in this confidence 
toward myself and my fellow-investigators, notwithstanding 
all that Carrington writes about Eusapia Palladino. ..." 

This will, I trust, serve to show the reader that I did not 
go to Eusapia's seances any too ready to be convinced; and 
the fact that I was so convinced (this being the first case 
of genuine physical mediumship I had ever seen during ten 



x Preface 

years continuous investigation) proves, it seems to me, that 
the severest skeptics are likely to become converted if they 
would but deign to stop criticising the reports and sittings 
of others, and go and have sittings themselves. Only in 
that manner can one's mental attitude be changed, and the 
genuine nature of the facts be forced upon one — as they were 
forced upon me. 

In spite of my conviction, however, I wish to say that I 
am just as skeptical as ever of all other professional mediums; 
and still think that as large a percentage of fraud exists as 
when I wrote the above passage. Eusapia is genuine; but 
she is, so far as I know, almost unique; and I shall believe in 
the genuineness of none other, until they have submitted 
their mediumship and their phenomena to tests similar to 
those imposed upon Eusapia. It is very true that, granting 
that her seances are genuine, it is highly probable that many 
others are genuine also — only the evidence does not prove 
it. However, until phenomena are produced under condi- 
tions which preclude the possibility of fraud, it is useless 
to speculate as to whether they are genuine or not. Of 
course it is possible that phenomena only occur under condi- 
tions which render fraud possible; but if that be the case, 
it is useless to continue the investigation, since nothing will 
ever be proved. We should always have to assume that 
fraud was the real explanation of the facts so long as it 
was possibly operative. 

In our own seances, we (my fellow-investigators and my- 
self) felt that we had obtained phenomena under conditions 
that absolutely precluded fraud; we were forced to the con- 
clusion, in consequence, that genuine phenomena occurred; 
and, that being the case, they should be studied by scientists 
i — not with the object of detecting trickery, but in the hope 



Preface xi 

of discovering the hidden causes and laws of certain unknown 
and as yet unrecognized biological phenomena. Of course 
each investigator must, unfortunately, be convinced in turn 
before he can approach the case from that point of view. 
The consequence is that years of valuable time have been 
consumed in attempts to establish the facts; and, by the 
time they are accepted by the skeptical world, it is probable 
that Eusapia will have died, and that we shall have to await 
the advent of another equally gifted medium before we can 
study the significance of the phenomena in the spirit in which 
they should be approached! 

I think I ought to say in conclusion that, although this 
book represents my own opinions concerning these phenom- 
ena — for which I alone am responsible — the task of estab- 
lishing the facts was equally shared by my colleagues, the 
Hon. Everard Feilding, and Mr. W. W. Baggally, to whom 
I wish to express my sincerest thanks and appreciation for 
their cooperation and support, and to whom credit is equally 
due, for whatever certitude has been reached regarding the 
existence of these preternormal events. Only by their ex- 
haustive and painstaking investigations and by their sympa- 
thetic cooperation has the issuance of this book been rendered 
possible. 

I wish to acknowledge my thanks, also, to the English 
Society for Psychical Research, for their permission to quote 
extended passages from our official Report upon Eusapia — 
which originally appeared in the S. P. R. Proceedings: also 
to the editor of The Annals of Psychical Science, for permis- 
sion to quote from the valuable collection of material upon 
Eusapia's mediumship that has appeared in that journal. 

I also wish to acknowledge, in this place, my indebtedness 
to all those investigators of Eusapia whose records have been 



xii Preface 

utilized in the compilation of this book; and particularly 
to those eminent men of science whose courageous champion- 
ing of an unpopular cause has paved the way for this investi- 
gation. 

H. C. 






CONTENTS 

PAGE 

Preface vii 

CHAPTER 

I. The Place of Eusapia Palladino in the History 

of Modern Spiritualism i 

II. Biographical Sketch 19 

III. Historical Resume of the Palladino Case 28 

§ I. Professor Lombroso's Conversion — 1891. 

§ 2. The Report of the Milan Commission — 1892. 

§ 3. Experiments at Naples and at St. Peters- 
burg— 1893. 

§ 4. Experiments at Rome — 1893-94. 

§ 5. Experiments at Warsaw — 1893-94. 

§ 6. Experiments at the ile Roubaud — 1894. 

§ 7. Experiments at Cambridge — 1895. 

§ 8. Experiments at L'Agnelas — 1895. 

§ 9. Experiments at Naples — 1895. 

§ 10. Experiments at Tremezzo, Auteuil, and at 
Choisy-Yvrac — 1 896. 

§ n. Experiments at Naples — 1897. 

§ 12. Experiments at Montfort-l'Amaury — 1897. 

§ 13. Experiments at Paris — 1898. 

§ 14. Experiments at Genoa — 1901. 

§ 15. Experiments at Palermo — 1902; at Rome 
and at Paris — 1905. 

§ 16. Experiments at Genoa — 1906-07. 

§ 17. Experiments at Turin (Lombroso) — 1907. 
xiii 



xiv Contents 

CHAPTER PAGE 

§ 18. Experiments at Turin (Foa, etc.) — 1907. 
§ 19. Experiments at Naples — 1907. 
§ 20. Report of a Seance held in Naples — 1908. 
§ 21. Report of the Psychological Institute (Paris) 

— 1908. 
§ 22. Miscellaneous Cases Illustrative of the 

Phenomena. 
IV. Personal Experiments with Eusapia — Naples, 

1908 152 

Seance I, November 21. 
Seance 2, November 23. 
Seance 3, November 26. 
Seance 4, November 29. 
Seance 5, December 2. 
Seance 6, December 4. 
Seance 7, December 7. 
Seance 8, December 10. 
Seance 9, December 13. 
Seance 10, December 15. 
Seance II, December 19. 
V. Resume of Theories Advanced to Explain these 

Phenomena 240 

VI. My Own Hypothesis to Account for the Facts. 283 
VII. Biological and Psychological Considerations. 302 

Appendix 339 

Index 349 



EUSAPIA PALLADINO 



CHAPTER I 

THE PLACE OF EUSAPIA PALLADINO IN THE HISTORY OF 
MODERN SPIRITUALISM 

Eusapia Palladino, 1 the Italian medium who forms the 
subject of this book, occupies a unique place in the history 
of Spiritualism. No other medium, producing "physical phe- 
nomena," has been studied with so much care, for so long a 
period, and by so many scientific men, as she. The case 
most nearly resembling it is that of Mrs. Piper — and she 
is not a medium for the production of physical phenomena, 
but is a trance medium, solely, and nothing has ever oc- 
curred in her presence resembling the phenomena asserted 
to have taken place in the presence of Eusapia Palladino. 
Mrs. Piper has been studied continuously, by men of scien- 
tific repute, for some twenty-five years (since 1885) — in- 
cluding some of the leading scientists of England, France 
and America; but the investigation was left for the most 
part in the hands of Dr. Hodgson, and the men and women 
who investigated her scientifically might be counted on the 
two hands. Further, as I have said before, there is no re- 
semblance whatever between the types of phenomena wit- 

1 Mme. Palladino told me personally that she spells her name with two, *r«," 
contrary to the all but universal custom. — H. C. 

X 



2 Eusapia Palladino 

nessed through the mediumship of the two mediums. Mrs. 
Piper merely sits at a table, and, while conversing, passes 
into a trance, in which state she remains for some two hours. 
During that period, her hand writes out certain messages 
automatically — which are read at the time by the sitter. It 
is all done openly, and in the light. In her case, there is 
no mystery; no dark seances; no physical phenomena; every- 
thing is perfectly clear and open, so far as the actual produc- 
tion of the phenomena is concerned. The whole point of 
interest, in her case, is the content of the written message. 
Does it or does it not contain any facts unknown to the 
medium, that are apparently gained supernormally ? That 
is the problem, in her case. It is a mental problem; not 
a physical one. The phenomena are mental or psychologi- 
cal, and not physical. The problems to be solved are, it will 
be seen, of a very different order from any that occur in 
the physical world. 

In the case of Eusapia Palladino, on the other hand, every- 
thing is as different as possible. Here, the phenomena are 
almost entirely physical in their character, and very rarely 
are mental or psychological phenomena obtained. 

In order that the reader may understand the case which we 
are to discuss, it will be necessary, first of all, to give a brief 
outline of what happens at these seances, so that the phe- 
nomena which take place at these sittings may be familiar 
to him. 

Eusapia Palladino is a "physical medium" — that is to 
say, physical phenomena occur in her presence, and mental 
or intellectual manifestations — such as are usually seen in 
the presence of trance mediums — are missing. Tables and 
chairs move about the room of their own accord, untouched 
by visible hands; the table around which the sitters are seated, 



Eusapia Palladino 3 

rocks violently, and finally goes completely into the air, con- 
trary to the law of gravitation. Lights are seen in various 
parts of the room ; musical instruments are played, no hand 
touching them; hands and faces appear — not belonging to 
any member of the circle, or to the medium; and various 
other phenomena of a kindred nature occur, quite inexpli- 
cable by any of the known laws of physical science. The 
above list will at least serve to show the general character 
of the phenomena observed in the presence of this medium. 

Of course the most obvious explanation of the facts is that 
the medium succeeds in some manner in producing the phe- 
nomena by fraudulent means; that she succeeds, e.g., in 
freeing one hand, and producing the touchings, playing upon 
the various musical instruments, lifting the table, etc., unseen 
by the sitters. That is the most natural explanation, and 
its possibility we should certainly have to eliminate before 
we could accept the facts as genuine. So much fraud has 
existed in the past, in connection with the physical phe- 
nomena of spiritualism, that we should have to take the 
greatest precautions that the mediums could not by any 
artifice produce the results seen by any normal means, or 
by any process of trickery. That is the obvious problem 
which all investigators of this medium's powers have been 
called upon to face, and which they have endeavored to over- 
come by imposing test after test, and obtaining phenomena 
under more and more stringent conditions, which precluded 
all possibility of fraud. 

It must not be thought that the investigators of Eusapia 
have been blind to the possibility of fraud in her case. On 
the contrary, they have been on the incessant watch for it; 
and have frequently detected it in operation. If fraud had 
never been detected, the problem would be a comparatively 



4 Eusapia Palladino 

simple one; but, unfortunately, it is well known that this 
medium will resort to trickery whenever she can — sometimes 
in a normal state, sometimes in a state of semi-trance. 

I have said before that Eusapia Palladino holds almost 
a unique place in the history of spiritualism, and for several 
reasons. The chief reason is this : That in her may now be 
said to culminate and focus the whole evidential case for the 
physical phenomena of spiritualism. If it could be shown 
that — in spite of all these years of work, in spite of the 
elaborate precautions taken, in spite of the testimony of the 
numerous scientific men who have carefully investigated her, 
and brought in favorable reports — her performances were 
fraudulent throughout, and that nothing but fraud entered 
into the production of these phenomena — then the whole case 
for the physical phenomena would be ruined — utterly, irre- 
trievably ruined. 1 If, on the other hand, it becomes evi- 
dent that fraud will not cover all the facts, and that genuine 
phenomena do occur in her presence — phenomena as yet in- 
explicable by science — then it will be proportionately more 
probable that many of the historic cases were genuine also; 
that the same phenomena occurred in other cases, but not 
so frequently, or under such good test conditions as those 
reported to occur in this case. The theoretical possibility 
of the facts having once been established, it does not neces- 

1 This statement may be questioned, but it is, I think, valid for this reason: 
The phenomena occurring in the presence of this medium have been studied by 
more scientific men, for a greater period of time, in a more careful manner, and 
with greater precautions against fraud, than any other medium in the history 
of the subject. If, then, in spite of all this, it were proved that fraud covered 
and explained all the facts, such doubt would be thrown upon the value of human 
testimony — so impossible would it obviously be to guard against fraud — that 
no amount of testimony for any other phenomena of the sort would be tolerated 
or considered for a moment. This may be both wrong and arrogant, but the 
case would be hopelessly lost, I am assured. So far as the scientific world is 
concerned, it could never again be reconverted after such a crushing blow. 



Eusapia Palladino £ 

sitate much credulity to imagine that the same phenomena 
took place many times in the past, in the presence of lesser 
and "weaker" mediums. Thus, Eusapia Palladino forms a 
"wedge," as it were, that might be driven home, perhaps — 
opening the way for the acceptance of the theoretical possi- 
bility of the older facts, and for the actual occurrence of 
many historic phenomena. She is, in fact, the crux, the pivot 
upon which the whole case for the physical phenomena turns. 
Upon her, upon the proof or disproof of her claims, rests 
one of the most stupendous crises in the history of science. 

Thus, in this medium may be said to rest the case for phy- 
sical phenomena — as the case for the mental phenomena rests 
with Mrs. Piper. These two mediums are both representa- 
tives, in a way, of their particular class of phenomena — the 
physical and the mental; and a very similar problem con- 
fronts us in the two cases. In the Piper case, if it could be 
shown, now or in after years, that subliminal faculty and 
telepathy, or other supernormal powers are sufficient to ex- 
plain the facts (or even some more normal and as yet un- 
suspected cause), then the case for spiritism would go 
to the wall; for no other case is so strong as this. In the 
same way, no medium of our day has succeeded in producing 
such remarkable phenomena, under such good conditions, as 
Eusapia; and the case for the physical phenomena, as before 
said, may be said to rest with her. 

There was one medium in the £ast who occupied very 
much the same position, in the interested and the scientific 
world, as does Eusapia to-day — D. D. Home. The phe- 
nomena occurring in the presence of this medium were very 
much on the same order as those occurring in the presence of 
Eusapia. In many respects, the phenomena were identical; 
but, whereas Eusapia, or the forces operating through her, 



6 Eusapia Palladino 

produce certain phenomena that were never reported to have 
occurred in the presence of Home (impressions of hands in 
wet putty, e.g.). Home, on the other hand, obtained cer- 
tain phenomena that Eusapia never duplicated or equaled — 
the handling of red-hot coals, etc. But the phenomena are 
very similar in many respects; and there is this further simi- 
larity — that both these mediums have been studied by scien- 
tific men, who published reports upon them and their phe- 
nomena. But while Sir William Crookes was almost the 
only man of great eminence who defended Home, numbers 
have come forward and published positive testimony in favor 
of Eusapia ; and in that respect her case is far stronger than 
that of Home, simply by reason of this cumulative testimony 
— though it can hardly be said that many of the incidents 
are stronger or better evidenced than some of those occurring 
in the presence of Home and witnessed by Sir William 
Crookes. In many of those incidents, no loophole for fraud 
or other natural explanation has ever been found ; and critics 
have had to fall back upon the ground that more evidence 
of the same character must be forthcoming in order to com- 
pel belief. This was perfectly rational and justifiable, but 
Home's death prevented this additional evidence from be- 
ing accumulated. In the case of Eusapia Palladino, it seems 
to have been accumulated, as we shall presently see. 

The relative value and significance of the Palladino phe- 
nomena can best be estimated, perhaps, by a brief glance at 
the historic phenomena — similar cases of the same general 
character occurring in the past. If we review these cases, 
we shall find many points of interest; and it will be profit- 
able to devote at least a brief space to this side of the con- 
troversy, before enumerating the actual facts themselves. In 
this way we can get a better look at her phenomena in per- 



Eusapia Palladino 7 

spective, as it were, and judge them as they will ultimately 
be judged — from the standpoint of history. 

Modern Spiritualism is, Mr. Podmore contends, "the di- 
rect outgrowth of Animal Magnetism." This gave rise, 
first of all, to the idea of "questioning spirits" through the 
mouths of entranced persons, and the mental phenomena are 
the product of this idea. These phenomena and these be- 
liefs Podmore traced back, through Andrew Jackson Davis 
and others in America; through the English Clairvoyants 
and the early English Mesmerists; through the German 
Somnambules; through the old French Mesmerists, to the 
Possession and Witchcraft cases of the Middle Ages. The 
physical phenomena, on the other hand, were traced back 
through the early physical mediums and poltergeist cases to 
the physical phenomena associated with the same mediaeval 
Witchcraft. It is a natural outgrowth, and doubtless the 
correct one, in the main. Modern spiritualistic phenomena 
— originating the present movement in 1848 — really date 
back a very long way — through all history, in fact, and ac- 
counts of those phenomena occur in the traditions of every 
nation. So far as we have any history at all, we find these 
phenomena occurring — just such phenomena, apparently, as 
we observe to-day, and construed in very much the same way 
then as they are construed now! Phenomena, supposedly 
remarkable, took place in all times — in all countries; it has 
always been merely a question of their interpretation. 

Now, when we come to consider this question of evidence 
and interpretation, we find this interesting fact. One class 
of individuals invariably explained the phenomena in one 
way — spirits; the other class endeavored to explain the facts 
in a "naturalistic" manner, and attempted to show that fraud, 
and disease, and other natural states and conditions were suf- 



8 Eusapia Palladino 

ficient to explain the facts. The same warfare is existing to- 
day ! No certain solution of these problems has even yet been 
arrived at — in spite of the centuries of squabbling, and the 
division is as great and the dispute as keen now as ever. Fur- 
ther, the stronger the arguments that are advanced on one 
side, the stronger the arguments on the other — they seem to 
balance each other exactly, so that the matter now stands just 
where it did at first! Why is this? 

I think that an explanation of this fact may perhaps be 
found — in a number of cases at least. In the first place, 
one side was contending for the reality of the facts (only), 
while the other side was fighting the facts-and-the-popular- 
construction-of-the-facts as well. They could not seem to 
get it into their heads (and they don't now) that the 
opinions and explanations of a man need not be accepted, 
merely because his facts are. This cannot be too strongly 
insisted upon, as it is a large cause of the trouble — past and 
present. In the next place, the two sides were not always 
arguing about the same facts at all ! Thus, one man may be 
attacking "spiritualism" — meaning by that, slate writing, 
materialization, and similar phenomena; while another man 
may be defending "spiritualism" — while he means by the 
term mental and psychological phenomena merely! It is ex- 
ceedingly important that the terms used should be very 
clearly understood by both sides, in any dispute of this char- 
acter; and further, they should be sure that they are arguing 
about the same phenomena, viewed from the same standpoint. 
If this were done, half the trouble would doubtless disappear 
at once. 

I have digressed to make these remarks primarily for this 
reason. If the history of "the supernatural" be studied care- 
fully, it will be found to duplicate, on a large scale, the his- 



Eusapia Palladino 9 

tory of modern spiritualism. The latter movement con- 
denses and epitomizes, as it were, the whole past phenomena 
in just this way. Throughout the course of its history, 
fraudulent phenomena have been observed (of that there 
can be no doubt whatever), and apparently genuine phe- 
nomena have been taking place at the same time also. Some 
investigators came in contact with the fraudulent phenomena, 
and others with the apparently genuine; and they have 
both been arguing from their own "experiences." Of course 
the result was, that no lasting agreement was arrived at. In 
order to arrive at an agreement, it would be necessary, first 
of all, to discuss the same phenomena; then agree as to the 
means that must be adopted in order to solve the problem; 
finally, agree to attempt to solve it in that manner. Only 
in that way can any lasting peace be found. 

Now, throughout all the mysticism of the Middle Ages, and 
all earlier periods, and throughout modern spiritualism, there 
has been an admixture of the fraudulent and the genuine. 
The preponderance has been on one side, according to some 
minds, and on the other, according to others; but very few 
have questioned the central fact that the two have always 
existed side by side. Especially is this the case with the physi- 
cal phenomena — where much fraud has always been known to 
exist. Indeed, so much fraud existed in the past, and so many 
and so ingenious are the means of deceiving the investigator, 
that some critics are disposed to think that no genuine physi- 
cal phenomena at all have ever occurred! Mr. Podmore 
and other critics are inclined to take this view — and this, 
after a careful search through both the historical evidence 
and the newer cases. For them, the physical phenomena have 
been "analyzed away" ; they have been resolved into very 
natural phenomena! Whether this position can be main- 



io Eusapia Palladino 

tained indefinitely or not will have to be decided by the later 
and more conclusive evidence. 

So we come, as the result of this long preamble, to this 
point: Taking the past history of modern spiritualism, we 
find many cases of apparently supernormal phenomena 
recorded, but most of them so badly recorded that they do 
not of themselves carry conviction. They are to be doubted, 
therefore. On the contrary, there are a few notable excep- 
tions to this rule — e.g., D. D. Home, and William Stainton 
Moses — in whose presence many remarkable phenomena are 
reported to have occurred, and these cases are strong enough 
to withstand criticism, and have at all events never been 
satisfactorily explained. We thus have two or three cases 
standing out against all past history and human experience. 
Are they strong enough or numerous enough to warrant 
our belief in their reality? Most men and women of a 
scientific turn of mind would probably think that they were 
not, and would demand further proof and more facts. That 
is only fair. This is one way of looking at the facts. 

The other view of the historic evidence is this. Here are 
one or two cases that have never been explained, and are 
strong enough to found a belief upon. The facts being ac- 
cepted upon the strength of these few cases, may we not 
justly assert that the other, more numerous, but weaker 
cases, evidentially, are genuine also — and may we not con- 
ceive that the same laws and forces that certainly governed 
the phenomena in the best-attested cases, governed and pro- 
duced the phenomena in the less well-attested cases also? It 
was simply not proved to be the case, in those instances. 
Certainly this would be a rational assumption — if the origi- 
nal cases were strong enough, or well enough attested. The 
whole past history of the phenomena may be read in the light 



Eusapia Palladino n 

of the evidence of the newer facts. If no new facts be 
forthcoming, then the older facts will be cast into greater 
and greater doubt; if, on the other hand, newer facts are 
brought forward, tending to establish the reality of the phe- 
nomena, then it is certainly probable that many of the older 
and less well-attested phenomena were genuine also — only 
the evidence did not prove it. 

Now we can see the tremendous importance of the Palla- 
dino phenomena. Their disproof would, on the one hand, 
cast all the historic phenomena into the gravest doubt ; while 
their proof would, on the contrary, tend to credit many of 
the older phenomena; and would tend to render it probable 
that they were, in reality, genuine also. 

Now, in this case — the crux of spiritualism, as before said 
— the medium is, fortunately, still living, and can still 
be experimented upon, by the skeptical. Experiments are 
now being conducted which, it is hoped, will settle this 
question once and forever; while much of the evidence that 
has been presented in the past is of such a character that it 
has already done so, to many minds. That, however, is a 
question that cannot be discussed here; as it would be to 
anticipate. This will at all events show the great signifi- 
cance of the facts, historically, and how much depends upon 
their solution and establishment — one way or the other. 

We have come, therefore, to the point where we must in- 
vestigate the facts, and see whither they lead us: What 
their nature ; how strong their evidential character, and what 
conclusions we must draw from them, if genuine. And this 
brings us to another important aspect of the case that must 
not be ignored, and which I might perhaps allude to in this 
place. 

We have seen the relative importance and significance of 



112 Eusapia Palladino 

the facts historically ; now let us briefly consider them from 
the orthodox scientific standpoint. In what way would they 
affect science and scientific thought, as at present held, if 
true? Would they, if proved to be genuine, enforce any 
recasting and remolding of science or scientific ideas? 
Would they run counter to the law of the indestructibility 
of matter? of the conservation of energy? of the possibility 
of actio ad distansf or other well-grounded scientific dogmas? 
These are questions that must be settled, or at least dis- 
cussed. 

First, I would point out that it would really make no 
difference at all, to the really scientific investigator, if they 
ran counter to these beliefs or not. He would not care a 
fig whether they did or did not run counter to scientific 
beliefs in this respect. He would endeavor to ascertain the 
facts, and, these once established, he would then endeavor, 
as best he could, to fit them into his scheme of the universe. 
Some scientists, it is to be regretted, take the opposite view, 
and insist that the possibility of a fact must be proved be- 
fore it can be investigated! But we need hardly point out 
that this is the reverse of scientific. It is the rankest dog- 
matism. Facts should always come before theories, and no 
matter what our views of the Universe may be, any new 
and strange facts should be investigated, no matter how 
they may seem to run counter to accepted science, or alter 
the world-scheme, as at present held. The facts must be 
investigated, the interpretation of the facts may come later. 
Once established, it will be time enough to quarrel over 
them and their interpretation. We must insist, therefore, 
that, no matter in what way they may upset science, as at 
present held, these facts should be investigated and the re- 
sults of the investigation impartially recorded. 



Eusapia Palladino 13 

If these phenomena — such as are recorded in this book — 
are ever accepted by orthodox science — as they surely must 
be, if the evidence continues to increase in bulk and con- 
clusiveness — then it will certainly become necessary to con- 
sider the question of interpretation or explanation. Until 
fraud is shown incapable of explaining all the facts; until 
all purely "natural" explanations are shown to be inadequate 
— we must not, of course, seek any other interpretation. 
But having once shown that genuine supernormal phenomena 
of the kind do exist, it becomes the duty of the scientific man 
to try and explain them. It may be contended that we need 
not as yet have any explanation at all ; that not enough and 
conclusive enough phenomena have been collected to warrant 
any hypothesis ; and it would be well to refrain from theoriz- 
ing or speculating until this additional evidence be forthcom- 
ing. I sympathize with this point of view, and was inclined 
to defend this attitude myself. 1 But there comes a time, 
nevertheless, when speculation is legitimate, if tentative. 
There is a difference between saying that such and such a 
thing is done in a certain way ; and saying that such and such 
a thing, if true and genuine, might perhaps have been per- 
formed in that manner! In view of the newer evidence, it 
would seem that there must come a time when these phe- 
nomena will be recognized by science; and then theorizing 
will be legitimate enough. At all events, those of us who are 
convinced of the reality of the phenomena are entitled to form 
conclusions and advance theories; and it is in this light, and 
for this reason, that the theories advanced at the end of the 
book are published. 

We have not yet discussed the changes in scientific views 
that must follow these newer researches, if accepted, or the 

1 See Journal of the American S. P. R., August, 1908, pp. 471-91. 



14 Eusapia Palladino 

manner in which the phenomena would contravene orthodox 
science, if established. It may be well to allude to this now, 
briefly, in order that the theories advanced in Chapter V 
may assume their proper proportions and aspect. Assuredly 
we must know what is to be changed before we can under- 
take to change it! 

Materialism starts with the assumption that there are 
only two things in the universe that are eternal — matter and 
force — all the rest is ephemeral and phenomenal. I have 
endeavored to show elsewhere x that at least one of these 
laws can no longer be said to hold good; and that both of 
them, in the light of the newest discoveries in physics, are 
certainly questionable. However, letting that pass for the 
moment, materialism has made no distinct place in the uni- 
verse for that "third thing" of Huxley's — consciousness. 
Materialism must take the stand that consciousness is merely 
an epiphenomenon ; that it is a mere by-product of the brain 
functioning, and of course ceases at the moment of death — • 
just as all the other vital activities cease. Vitality is for 
orthodox science a simple resultant of chemical combustion, 
limited strictly to the periphery of the body. Spirit and 
soul do not exist, in that scheme; the universe is in fact a 
very simple thing, and easily understood — according to ma- 
terialism, and to those who hold to it as a philosophy. 

But there are, unfortunately for it, certain facts that can- 
not be explained by any of its laws, or in accordance with its 
teachings. If that doctrine were true, all our knowledge 
must come to us through the five avenues of sense, and it 
would be impossible for us to obtain knowledge in any 
other manner. That is what the ordinary psychologist would 
say is the case. For him, telepathy, clairvoyance, etc., do 

1 The Coming Science , pp. 90-113. 



Eusapia Palladino 15 

not exist — except in the credulous minds of the masses. And 
it is certain that, if consciousness is nothing more than a 
product of brain functioning, any extension of it beyond the 
brain is impossible. And yet telepathy is a fact! At all 
events, then, materialism must be stretched and extended to 
take in and cover this remarkable phenomenon ; and the same 
is true of other supernormal phenomena. 

Now, when we come to the material world, we find the 
same hard and fast rules set for us as existed in the psycho- 
logical. In fact, modern science is even more certain of what 
is possible and what is impossible when it comes to the ma- 
terial world than it is in the psychological! There are cer- 
tain "laws of nature," we are told, and these it is impossible 
to transgress. They never have been transgressed, and they 
will never be ! Possibly, if we knew all the laws of nature, 
this would hold true ; but it so happens that we do not know 
one tenth (doubtless) of the "laws of nature," and so are 
unable to say, really, what is possible and what is not. We 
can say what is usual or uniform, but beyond that we can- 
not go. Certainly, if any man asserts that he has seen a 
remarkable fact, apparently disproving laws hitherto held 
to be inviolable, he must prove his claim by producing the 
fact; that is but right and logical. But if the fact is pro- 
duced, and thoroughly established, it must be accepted; and 
science and even the "laws of nature" must be recast in order 
to take in and include this newer fact. True science is always 
ready and willing to do this. So that, if the Palladino phe- 
nomena are deemed to be established, science will have to 
be remolded sufficiently to include and explain those facts. 

Now, when we come to consider these phenomena in de- 
tail, we find them broadly divided into two classes: (1) 
those physical movements of objects, raps, etc., which seem 



16 Eusapia Palladino 

to indicate the presence of some force, but no intelligence; 
and (2) those phenomena that seem to indicate that an out- 
side intelligence is present — and not only that, but a distinct- 
ly human intelligence, having the shape of a human form, 
with face, hands, etc., and in fact all the characteristics that 
go to make what is, in popular tradition, a "spirit." It is 
needless to say that the first of these two types presents far 
less difficulty, and will doubtless be accepted by science long 
before the second set of phenomena. They should not be, 
doubtless, if the testimony were equally strong in both cases, 
but there is a certain legitimate prejudice in the minds of 
scientific men that must be taken into account and allowed 
for. In view of the past, it is quite intelligible; and spirit- 
ualists, if they are wise, will not insist too strongly upon 
these phenomena at first, but would let time take its own 
course, and know that Truth, whatever that is, will ulti- 
mately triumph. If true, the phenomena will one day be 
recognized and accepted; and nothing is to be gained, and 
perhaps much is to be lost, by unduly hurrying the scientific 
world into an acceptance of the facts. 

Taking the first group of phenomena, we find that there 
should be really very little difficulty in accepting them — if 
only an extension of present-day science were granted. The 
facts would not run counter to anything that has been 
taught, in the majority of cases; they would merely mean 
an extension of present theories and knowledge. Perhaps I 
can illustrate this. Take, for example, the movement of 
an object without contact. We know that this object can 
always be made to move by the application of a certain 
amount of pressure or force — when no material object is 
touching it. A gust of wind will blow over a table or a 
chair, for example; light energy will keep clouds suspended 



Eusapia Palladino 17 

in the atmosphere, etc. Here, although there is a medium 
postulated through which these effects are produced, there 
is no direct contact between one material object and the 
other. The cause and the effect are separated by a gaseous 
or an etheric medium, through which these energies act. 

This being so, why may it not be conceived that there is 
some vital energy or some other force unknown to us which 
is capable, under certain conditions, of extending beyond the 
periphery of the body, causing vibrations in the ether, and 
producing these various movements? It seems to me that 
there is, or should be, but little difficulty experienced here. 
Very much the same is true of the rap and other nonintelli- 
gent phenomena. It might easily be conceived, as Dr. Max- 
well indeed did conceive, that "an explosive discharge of 
neuric force" would account for these raps — they being close- 
ly akin to the noise of a spark, in an electrical discharge. 
Of course the mentality connected with these raps is a dif- 
ferent matter; that requires separate treatment. 

Speculations such as these are perhaps out of place in the 
first chapter of a book which is to be devoted principally to 
the collection and presentation of facts; but it may be as well 
to insist at the outset upon the point of view from which 
these facts must be regarded. The clearing away of pre- 
vious prejudices and preconceptions is the primary object 
of this chapter; to insure, so far as possible, an open and un- 
biased mind in reading and weighing the facts and the 
evidence to be presented. I have reserved for the last chap- 
ters all considerations of a purely theoretical and speculative 
character ; and shall first of all devote myself to a statement 
of the facts, with critical comment. If the reality of the 
facts be accepted — if the facts be admitted as such, by the 
scientific and thoughtful world — then theories and explana- 



1 8 Eusapia Palladino 

tory hypotheses are very valuable and necessary; but until 
the facts themselves are established, all such speculations are 
premature. I accordingly propose that we address ourselves 
to the facts, throughout the remainder of this book, until 
the last chapters be reached; when explanatory hypotheses 
will be discussed. With the facts before him, the reader 
will be in a better position to judge of the relative prob- 
ability of the various theories advanced — or even of their 
necessity at all. 



CHAPTER II 



Accounts of the early life of Eusapia Palladino, and of 
how she first came into her mediumship, vary greatly. Her 
own statements are sometimes contradictory, thus: Eusapia 
told me, when I was in Naples, that she had been an out- 
cast since quite a little child, had been taken up by a family 
of friends, and cared for by them — accidentally discovering 
her mediumistic powers when about fourteen years of age 
by sitting at a table. The table tilted, and finally rose com- 
pletely into the air. She asserted that, for a number of years, 
she gave seances only infrequently, and to friends; and that 
the seances, during the early years of her mediumship, seemed 
to relieve her and remove her feeling of depression ; but that, 
during her later years, they sapped her energy, and made her 
extremely weak and depressed. This would seem to be the 
truth, judging from her condition after a seance — but I 
have remarked upon this elsewhere. 

When we asked Eusapia whether the report was true that 
she had married a conjurer, she replied indignantly that it 
was not. She stated that her first husband had been "con- 
nected with theatricals," and knew the details of stage 
mechanism, and its various trick devices. He also knew a 
few tricks, and took a delight in exhibiting them to his fel- 
low-workers ; but that he was not by any means a professional 
conjurer. 

*9 



20 Eusapia Palladino 

This account seems to agree somewhat with other state- 
ments made by her — though differing in some particulars. 
M. Flammarion, e.g., in his Mysterious Psychic Forces, 
says: 

"Eusapia Palladino was introduced to me. She is a 
woman of very ordinary appearance, a brunette, her figure a 
little under the medium height. She was forty-three years 
old, not at all neurotic, rather stout. She was born on Janu- 
ary 21, 1854, i n a village of La Pouille; her mother died 
while giving birth to the child; her father was assassinated 
eight years afterwards, in 1862, by brigands in Southern Italy. 
Eusapia Palladino is her maiden name. She was married 
at Naples to a merchant of modest means named Raphael 
Delgaiz, a citizen of Naples. She manages the petty busi- 
ness of the shop, is illiterate, does not know how to either 
read or write, understands only a little French. I con- 
versed with her, and soon perceived that she has no theories 
and does not burden herself by trying to explain the phe- 
nomena produced by her." (p. 67.) 

Probably the completest account of her youth, and the 
manner in which she first became interested in the subject, is 
that given by Mme. Paola Carrara, the daughter of Professor 
Lombroso, who says of her: 

"We are not concerned now with the Eusapia of dark me- 
diumistic cabinets, amidst the sobbing and whispering, the 
mystery of hands, of dancing tables, of resounding raps; but 
the Eusapia of daylight, who, free from the paternal shade of 
John, returns to her normal personality as an ordinary and 
altogether uneducated woman of the very lowest Neapolitan 
populace. 

"During the two months passed by Eusapia at Turin I 
often saw her," writes Mme. Carrara, "and I always thought 
that her real personality is as interesting as her personality 
as a medium, and that it is the result of the strangest product 
which the human race can supply. 



Eusapia Palladino 21: 

"Eusapia is a mixture of many contrasts. She is a mix- 
ture of silliness and maliciousness, of intelligence and igno- 
rance, of strange conditions of existence. Think of a sales- 
woman of Naples transplanted without any preparation into 
the most elegant drawing-rooms of the aristocracy of Europe. 
She has gained a smattering of cosmopolitan intellectuality 
but she has also ingeniously remained a woman of the lower 
class. 

"She has been carried on the wing of universal renown 
and yet she has never cast off the swaddling clothes of illiter- 
acy. No doubt this illiteracy saves her from vanity, for she 
knows nothing of all the rivers of ink which have been spent 
upon her. . . . 

"Here are a few details sufficiently piquant to awaken 
public interest. 

"Her appearance and words seem to be quite genuine and 
sincere. She has not the manner of one who either poses or 
tricks or deceives others. She has had the perversity, a rare 
occurrence, to remain as nature made her: outspoken, sin- 
cere, instinctive, to such a degree that however wonderful 
may be the tales she tells, they are true. 

"Her physiognomy is not ugly, although M. Barzini has 
discreetly insinuated that it is so. Her face is large, marked 
by some suffering, and bears traces rather of the spiritistic 
seances, of the effort and the fatigue which they involve, 
than of the fifty-three years that she has lived. 

"She cherishes her appearance, or, at least, she shows some 
coquetry about it. She has magnificent black eyes, mobile 
and even diabolical in expression. She displays coquettishly 
her famous white lock among her dark hairs. 

" 'Formerly,' she says, 'I was ashamed of it, but now that 
everyone compliments me on it I do not hide it any more.' 

"Her hands are pretty, her feet small. She always keeps 
them visible outside her dress to show that they are closely 
shod in polished shoes." 

The first time that she saw her at her father's house, Mme. 
Paola Carrara could not draw from her any confidences con- 



22 Eusapia Palladino 

cerning her life as a medium. Instead, she told her of the 
feelings she had when frequenting high-class society. Her 
impudence and arrogance as a Neapolitan of the lower class 
sometimes almost takes the form of personal dignity. 

On one occasion, she related that she was staying with 
the Grand Dukes in St. Petersburg: the Grand Duchess 
often sent for her to come and talk to her or keep her com- 
pany in the drawing-room, but when visitors came she made 
an imperious sign, showing her the door. Twice Eusapia 
rather reluctantly obeyed, but at last she rebelled and plant : 
ing herself in front of the princess, she said: "Madame la 
Grande Duchesse, you doubtless mistake me for a basket 
which is carried to market when it is required, and left in a 
corner when it is done with. Either I shall remain in the 
drawing-room with all the visitors, or I shall leave the 
castle." 

And the princess by blood, not to discontent the princess 
of spiritism, consented that she should remain in the drawing- 
room. 

At Turin the Duke of the Abruzzi asked and obtained a 
seance with her and afterwards paid her lavishly, but Eusapia 
was dissatisfied. 

"What is a five-hundred-franc note to me? I am capable 
of tearing your five-hundred-franc note into four pieces (she 
made a gesture of tearing it, but did not really do so) , but 
I do what I choose, and I choose to be treated politely." 

She had been very annoyed because the prince had not 
sent her his card. 

But one day Eusapia, who ordinarily replies apathetically 
to those who interrogate her on this question, consented to 
relate how she became a medium. 

"My history is long and incredible," she said, "but I wish 



Eusapia Palladino 23 

to tell it to you because everybody pretends to know it (I 
mean journalists), and they know nothing, and have only 
accumulated a heap of lies about me." 

She told us that she was born at Minervo-Murge, a moun- 
tain village near Bari (Apulia). Her mother died shortly 
after her birth, and her father, who was a peasant, caused 
her to be brought up on a neighboring farm. 

But the villagers took little care of the orphan. Once 
when she was only a year old, she was allowed to fall, so 
that a hole was made in her head. That is the famous 
cranial opening from which, in moments of trance, a cold 
breeze is felt to issue. On this scar has grown a tress of 
hair that has always been white since infancy, and which is 
easily distinguishable in her photographs. 

"As if I had not had trouble enough," she said, "when I 
was twelve years old my father died. I was thus completely 
alone, for I had no near relations. A native of my village, 
who lived in Naples, having learned my sad history, took 
charge of me. At Naples he put me in the care of some 
foreigners who wished to adopt a little girl. But I was not 
at all the sort they wanted, for I was like a wild animal, 
a forest bird, ignorant, and having always lived as a poor 
creature, and these ladies wanted to make of me an educated 
and learned girl. They wanted me to take a bath every day, 
and comb my hair every day, and to use a fork at table, to 
study French and the piano, and to learn to read and write. 
In fact, I was to £11 up all my time with occupation, and I 
could not amuse myself. Then began scoldings and revolt. 
They told me I was lazy, and, in short, in less than a year I 
was turned out of their house. I was in despair; I went 
again in search of that family in my own country, who gave 
me shelter for a few days, whilst arrangements were being 
made to put me in a convent. I had been in the house for a 
few days when, one evening, some friends came who spoke of 
tables that dance and give raps, things which were much 



24 Eusapia Palladino 

talked about at that time. And, as a joke, they proposed to 
try and make a table turn. 

"They fetched one, sat around it and called me to come 
and make a chain with them. We had not sat down for ten 
minutes before the table began to rise, the chairs began to 
dance, the curtains to swell, the glasses and bottles to walk 
about, and the bells to ring in such fashion that all were 
frightened, as if in fun they had called up the devil and 
expected him to appear every minute. We were tested one 
by one to see who produced these phenomena, and they finally 
concluded that it was I. They then proclaimed me to be 
a medium and talked to everybody about it, inviting their 
friends and acquaintances to little spiritistic seances. They 
made me sit whole evenings at the table, but that was tedious 
to me, and I only did it because it was a way of recompensing 
my hosts, whose desire to keep me with them prevented their 
placing me in the convent. I took up laundress work, think- 
ing I might render myself independent and live as I liked 
without troubling about spiritistic seances." 

"But," she was asked, "how did John King appear on the 



scene 



"That is the strangest part of my story, which many per- 
sons will not believe. At the time when I began to hold 
spiritistic seances in Naples, an English lady came there who 
had married a Neapolitan, a certain Damiani, a brother of 
the deputy, who still lives. This lady was devoted to spirit- 
ism. One day when she was at the table, a message came to 
her informing her that there was in Naples a person who 
had lately arrived, who lived at such a number, in such a 
street, and was called Eusapia, that she was a powerful me- 
dium, and that the spirit who sent this message, John King, 
was disposed to incarnate himself in her and to manifest by 
marvelous phenomena. The spirit did not speak in vain, 
for the lady at once sought to verify the message. She went 
directly to the street and the number indicated, mounted to the 
third floor, knocked at the door and inquired if a certain 

1 John King is the so-called spirit "guide" or "control" of Eusapia, who 
is supposed to regulate her seances and produce most of the phenomena. 
For this, however, see later on in the book. 



Eusapia Palladino 2$ 

Eusapia did not live there. She found me, though I had 
never imagined that any such John had lived either in this 
world or another. But almost as soon as I sat at the table 
John King manifested and has never left me since. Yes! I 
swear" (and she said this emphatically) "that all that I am 
telling you is the simple truth, although many persons seem; 
to think I have arranged the facts." 

Mme. Paola Carrara then relates the following anecdote, 
told by Eusapia Palladino: 

This happened ten years ago. Eusapia says she possessed 
diamond earrings and bracelets set with emeralds, massive 
chains and rings with precious stones. Her rich acquaint- 
ances — Sardou, Aksakoff", Richet, Ochorowicz, Semiraski, 
Flammarion — knowing her Neapolitan taste for gold orna- 
ments, had loaded her with many gifts. For better security 
she put these treasures into a sort of strong box in her shop. 

"One night," she said, "I had a horrible dream: I saw 
a man, of whom I saw not only the face, but all the details 
of his clothes, with an old hat, a handkerchief round his neck, 
check trousers; he came into the shop and forced open the 
box, whilst two companions watched at the door." 

The impression was so strong that she awoke her husband 
and told him that the shop was being robbed. He paid no 
attention; but she got up about two o'clock, went into the 
shop and assured herself that there were no thieves there. 
But to set her mind at rest she took her precious jewels and 
carried them to her room, w T here she shut them up in a 
piece of furniture after counting them one by one. What 
was her alarm next day when she encountered, near the door 
of the house, an individual identical in appearance with the 
person she had dreamed of! Worried by this thought, she 
went to consult a police functionary whom she knew, but he 
excused himself, saying: "I cannot, dear Madam, undertake 



26 Eusapia Palladino 

to act as policeman of dreams, but if you wish to make your 
mind easy take your jewels to the bank, where they will be 
better looked after than by my officers." 

Following this sound and simple advice, she took her 
precious box to the bank, but she arrived too late, the doors 
were closed; being still uneasy, she returned to the officer 
and asked him to station two of his men at her door for one 
night. This was done. The two guards remained there all 
night. And on that night the dream of the theft was re- 
peated, so that on awaking her first thought was to assure 
herself whether her small treasure was still in the place 
where she had put it. 

At about ten o'clock she went out to the shop, a 
few yards away from her house. When she reached it she 
bethought herself suddenly that she had been unwise to leave 
her jewels in the house. She returned quickly to fetch them. 
The entrance door was closed ; but she had scarcely reached 
the cupboard before she perceived that the precious box had 
disappeared. She rushed out, crying, like one possessed: 
"Holy Virgin, holy Virgin! my jewels are stolen. Catch 
the thief! catch the thief!" for she had not been out of the 
house ten minutes, and the thief could not be far away. 

The police commissary recognized the individual, whom 
Eusapia described, as one of the best-known thieves of a gang 
in Naples. Afterwards, Eusapia found out how he, in league 
with one of her servants, had succeeded in getting a false 
key made to fit the lock of the jewel box. "You see," Eusapia 
bitterly remarked, "you see what little use there is in this 
fine mediumistic faculty ! It did not serve to save my jewels, 
those jewels which were dear to me as the apple of my eye. 
What is to happen, happens in spite of everything!" 

On being asked whether the spirits, or at least the medium- 



Eusapia Palladino 27 

istic faculty, had intervened previously, in other circum- 
stances of her life, she replied: 

"No, I never perceive the presence of a spirit, but some- 
times without my being aware of it or wishing it, a spirit 
must have helped me. Two years ago I was ill in Paris, 
and I had a lazy and negligent nurse who, instead of giving 
me medicine, lay down on her bed and slept profoundly. I 
might call and ring, nobody answered. And what hap- 
pened then? The lazy woman was aroused by blows and 
pinches which I had no intention of making, so that the nurse 
became alarmed by this strange phenomenon and would have 
nothing more to do with me and my sorceries." 

Everyone who has observed and studied Eusapia, has 
noticed that her hands and her fingers produce a repercus- 
sion on objects and persons at a distance. The movements 
which her hands made in her imagination were probably 
movements of irritation against the nurse and resulted prob- 
ably in those pinches which the nurse actually felt. 

Mme. Paola Carrara thus terminates her interesting study : 

"There are singular things in this nature which seems 
so simple and open — certain attempts at cheating have been 
remarked. An observer who held more than thirty seances 
with her, and who saw produced by day and in full light 
really marvelous phenomena, asserts that two or three times 
in the course of the seance she had recourse to trickery, to 
fraud and deceit, but so clumsily that she was easily discov- 
ered. It is not because at these moments the medium- 
istic faculty fails, for when controlled, she immediately after- 
wards produced indisputable phenomena." 



CHAPTER III 

HISTORICAL RESUME OF THE PALLADINO CASE 

§ i. Professor Lombroso's Conversion — 1891 

Eusapia Palladino owes her introduction to the scientific 
world to Professor Chiaia, of Naples, who published, on 
August 9, 1888, in a journal issued in Rome, a letter 
to Professor Lombroso, in which he stated that he had in- 
vestigated this medium for some time, and had become con- 
vinced of her genuine supernormal powers. He called upon 
Professor Lombroso to investigate likewise; and put the 
matter of her mediumship to the test. Professor Lombroso 
did not accede to this challenge for a considerable time ; but 
some years later he consented to sit with Eusapia — the re- 
sult of the sittings being to convince him that at least some 
of the observed phenomena were genuine, beyond dispute. 
In a letter dated June 25, 1 891, he said: 

"I am filled with confusion and regret that I combated 
with so much persistence the possibility of the facts called 
Spiritualistic. I say facts, because I am still opposed to the 
theory. . . ." 

It was in February, 1891, that Professor Lombroso, Pro- 
fessor Tamburini, MM. Gigli, Vizioli, Ascensi, and Ciolfi 
(who drew up the report) secured two seances with Eusapia 
in Naples. The usual phenomena were observed, and one 
incident of remarkable interest that should be recorded here. 
This phenomenon was the following: 

28 



Eusapia Palladino 29 

"The light was extinguished, and the experiments began 
again. While, in response to the unanimous wish, the little 
bell was beginning again its tinklings, and its mysterious 
aerial circuits, M. Ascensi, taking his cue unknown to us, 
from M. Tamburini, went (unperceived, owing to the dark- 
ness) and stood at the right of the medium, and at once, with 
a single scratch, lighted a match, so successfully, as he de- 
clared that he could see the little bell while it was vibrating 
in the air, and suddenly fall upon a bed about six feet and a 
half behind Mme. Palladino." 1 

Later in the seance, a small table, in spite of M. Ascensi's 
efforts to hold it, extricated itself from his grasp, and went 
rolling over the floor. 

At the second seance, Eusapia was bound with ropes. In 
spite of this, however, the usual phenomena occurred — raps, 
touches, etc. — and the small table, which had been placed in 
the cabinet, advanced toward Mme. Palladino. Suddenly, 
while the table was still in movement, a salver that had 
been placed upon it, turned upside down, without a particle 
of the flour which it contained being spilled. It was asserted 
that such an occurrence is, under usual circumstances, im- 
possible. 

§ 2. The Report of the Milan Commission — 1892 

As the result of Professor Lombroso's conversion, several 
savants — Professors Schiaparelli, director of the observatory 
of Milan; Gerosa, professor of physics; Ermacora, doctor 
of natural philosophy; Aksakof, councilor of state to the 
Emperor of Russia; Charles du Prel, doctor of philosophy 
in Munich ; Professor Charles Richet, of the Sorbonne, Paris ; 

1 A number of photographs of objects floating in the air without visible sup- 
port — violins, horns, etc. — are to be found in The Annals of Psychical Science, 
April-June, 1909. The medium in this case is Carancini. 



30 Eusapia Palladino 

and Professor Buffern — met in October, 1892, in the apart- 
ment of M. Finzi, at Milan, and conducted a long series 
of experiments. Seventeen sittings, in all, were obtained — 
extracts of which are quoted below. 

The most striking phenomena took place in full light. 
These were (1) the levitations of the table, and (2) the 
alteration of the medium's weight in the balance. Photo- 
graphs of some of these levitations were taken, and published 
in the Report. Arguments were adduced, showing that Eu- 
sapia could not have lifted the table by her hands, knees, or 
feet. The committee attempted to duplicate these levitations 
of the table under conditions imposed upon Eusapia, but 
failed to do so. The experiments in which her weight ap- 
peared to be altered are of great interest. The account of 
these reads as follows: 



"Eusapia, seated on a chair, was placed on the platform 
of a weighing machine, and her feet were strongly bound 
together by a handkerchief. One of us, M. Finzi, was told 
off to read the weight. M. Schiaparelli and I employed our- 
selves in watching closely the balance and its surroundings, 
so as to be sure that Eusapia did not touch with hand or 
foot the ground, or any object in the neighborhood. 

"Her weight with the chair being 58 kilogrammes (nearly 
128 pounds, or over 9 stone), we placed on the scale 500 
grammes at a point where it would be equivalent to 50 kilo- 
grammes, and then the rider was placed at the figure eight. 
Eusapia's weight was thus exactly balanced. Then, though 
Eusapia did not move her chair, we had, in order to main- 
tain equilibrium, to shift the rider, first to six, then to four, 
and then to two, and finally to zero, and further to obtain 
exact equilibrium, it would have been necessary to take away 
a little of the weight of 500 grammes which represented 50 
kilogrammes. It will be seen, therefore, that Eusapia di- 
minished her weight in this experiment by at least 8 kilo- 



Eusapia Palladino 31 

grammes (17^2 pounds). We are certain that she threw 
nothing away (if she had thrown anything away she would 
have had to recover it in order to restore her original weight) , 
and equally certain that she derived no support from any 
neighboring object. And, finally, the movements were suf- 
ficiently slow — it occupied from ten to twenty seconds — 
to make it impossible to attribute it to any jump, or quick 
movement of any kind. Nevertheless, the observation did 
not appear to us conclusive. In brief, in the ordinary weigh- 
ing machine, constructed on the principle of the steelyard, 
the weight varies (although it is true within very narrow 
limits) with the position of the center of gravity. By chang- 
ing his position on the platform, especially when, as was the 
case here, the machine is not a very good one, the person 
who is being weighed can appreciably vary his weight. 

"We devised, accordingly, a weighing machine of a differ- 
ent kind, in which the platform was suspended by the four 
corners. In this machine, the weight would show no varia- 
tion, no matter what was the position of the sitter on the plat- 
form. An automatic arrangement, devised by M. Finzi, 
registered the movements of the lever. In the fifth sitting 
we obtained a result which was certainly remarkable — seeing 
that it occurred under exceptionally good conditions. M. 
Schiaparelli and I were watching the machine, both above 
and below, so as to be sure that Eusapia did not touch either 
the ground or the support from which the platform was 
hung. 

"Under these conditions, there was certainly a slight up- 
ward movement of the platform, but it was very trifling; 
and although the automatic register indicated a marked 
diminution in the weight, lasting for about 15 seconds, I 
cannot say for certain that the movement of the register did 
not occur at the moment when Eusapia, in order to gain 
more strength, asked one of the investigators to give her his 
hand, which she held for a short time before relinquishing." 

The committee point out, however, that the evidence for 
a new physical force is incomplete, because this experiment 



32 Eusapia Palladino 

succeeded only when a part of Eusapia's dress touched the 
floor, and when precautions were taken to prevent this con- 
tact, no appreciable effect was produced on the balance. 
Upon one occasion, when the balance was placed some ten 
inches behind Eusapia, in response to an urgent movement 
of her hand, the rider oscillated violently, and the hands, 
feet, and knees of the medium were being securely held. 
This effect, as of some heavy weight being thrown into the 
scale, was, however, never repeated. 

In a further set of experiments, results were obtained 
which seemed clearly beyond the medium's unaided powers. 
A portion of the room was curtained off from the rest, and 
the medium placed in the aperture of the curtains, which 
were joined above her head. The space curtained off was 
left in absolute darkness, the rest of the room was dimly 
lighted by a lantern with red glass sides. On one occasion 
Professor Richet took up his station in the darkened part 
of the room, behind the curtains, his chair placed back to 
back with that upon which Eusapia sat. The medium's 
hands were held on either side by M. Schiaparelli, and M. 
Finzi. Her feet were also held. Under such circumstances, 
however, the curtain was blown out, and Professor Richet 
was touched on the right shoulder by a distinct hand and 
pulled with some force. At the same moment, M. Finzi 
was touched on the ear, on the forehead, and on the temple 
by fingers from behind the curtain — while the hand which 
touched Professor Richet was free from the curtain. The 
committee state in their report: 

"It is impossible to count the number of times that a hand 
appeared and was touched by one of us. Suffice it to say 
that doubt was no longer possible. It was indeed a living, 
human hand which we saw and touched, while at the same 



Eusapia Palladino 33 

time the bust and arms of the medium remained visible, and 
her hands were held by those on either side of her." 

The committee express their conviction that the results 
obtained in the light, and many of those obtained in dark- 
ness, could not have been produced by trickery of any kind. 
Professor Richet, who did not sign the committee's report, 
states his own conclusions as follows: 

"Absurd and unsatisfactory though they were, it seems 
to me very difficult to attribute the phenomena produced to 
deception — conscious or unconscious — or to a series of de- 
ceptions. Nevertheless, conclusive and indisputable proof 
that there was no fraud upon Eusapia's part, or illusion on 
our part, is wanting — we must therefore renew our efforts 
to obtain such proof." 



§ 3. Experiments at Naples and at St. Petersburg — 1893 

As a result of the publication of this joint report, a long 
series of experiments was conducted by scientific men in 
various centers. In 1893 a series was held in Naples under 
the direction of Professor Wagner, Professor of Zoology in 
the University of St. Petersburg; in Rome, in 1893 and 1894, 
under the direction of M. de Siemiradski, Correspondent of 
the Institute; in 1893-4, at Warsaw, at the house of Pro- 
fessor Ochorowicz; in 1894, at Carqueiranne, at the house 
of Professor Richet, and on the ile Roubaud, under the 
direction of Professor Richet, Sir Oliver Lodge, Mr. F. W. 
H. Myers, and Dr. Ochorowicz; in 1895, at Naples, under 
Dr. Paolo Visani-Scozzi, Specialist of Nervous Diseases, at 
Florence ; and at Cambridge, at the house of Mr. F. W. H. 
Myers — these sittings being shared by Professor and Mrs. 
Sidgwick, Miss Alice Johnson, Dr. Richard Hodgson, and 



34 Eusapia Palladino 

others; in 1895, at l'Agnelas, at the house of Colonel de 
Rochas; in 1896, at Tremezzo, at Auteuil, and at Choisy- 
Yvrac; in 1897, in Naples, Rome, Paris, Montfort, and 
Bordeaux; in 1901-2, at the Minerva Club at Geneva; in 
1905, at Rome and at Paris — and other newer investiga- 
tions, all of which I shall summarize more or less completely 
in the pages that follow. 

Professor Wagner obtained, apparently, but one or two 
seances — which completely convinced him of the genuine 
nature of the phenomena; but there is reason to think that 
Professor Wagner was shortsighted, and in other ways a 
poor observer, so that his testimony, such as it is, cannot be 
given great weight. As the result of these seances, how- 
ever, Professor Wagner induced Eusapia to go to St. Peters- 
burg, where she was studied by him, and by Professor K 

(whose name is not given) of the University of St. Peters- 
burg — who was not convinced that he had seen any genuine 
supernormal phenomena. It is probable, from the account, 
however, that Professor K was more or less hyper- 
critical. Thus, he would not believe in the levitations of the 
table, because one leg touched Eusapia's skirt ; but, as I have 
said before, Professor Wagner's testimony cannot be given 
great weight, in any case, and need not be given more fully, 
in this place. 

§ 4. Experiments in Rome — 1893-4 

The next series of seances, held in Rome in 1893-4 under 
the direction of M. Siemiradski, and Dr. Ochorowicz, is 
far more interesting and convincing. The following phe- 
nomena were vouched for: 

(1) Movements of objects without contact. 



Eusapia Palladino 35 

(2) Touches by invisible hands. 

(3) Luminous apparitions. 

(4) Auditory phenomena. 

The light during the first set of manifestations is de- 
scribed as being very good, and consisted of two candles and 
an oil lamp. When the medium was in trance, the same phe- 
nomena were produced in full light. 

The sitters were unanimous in saying that the touches by 
invisible hands were certainly not hallucinatory. They w T ere, 
they assert, objective in character, beyond all doubt. 

The investigators are also certain that the apparitions seen 
by them were not hallucinatory, since the forms were seen 
at the same moment and described in similar terms by all 
the sitters. The same remarks apply to auditory phenomena 
— raps, etc. 

The seances in Rome in 1894 were attended by Professor 
Richet, Baron von Schrenck-Notzing, of Munich, Professor 
Lombroso, Professor Danilewski, of the University of St. 
Petersburg, and Dr. Dobrzycki, director of the Medical 
Gazette, at Warsaw. Various movements of objects with- 
out contact occurred, and on af least one occasion it would 
seem that an "apport" took place, which is described as 
follows : 

"Hoping to obtain the movement of an object without 
contact, we placed a little piece of paper folded in the form 
of a letter A under a glass, and upon a disk of light paste- 
board. . . . Not being successful in this, we did not wish 
to fatigue the medium, and we left the apparatus upon the 
large table; then we took our places around the little table, 
after having carefully shut all the doors, the keys of which 
I begged my guests to put in their pockets, in order that we 
might not be accused of not having taken all necessary pre- 
cautions. 



36 Eusapia Palladino 

"The light was extinguished. Soon we heard the glass 
resound on our table, and, having procured a light, we found 
it in the midst of us, in the same position, upside down, 
and covering the little piece of paper ; only the cardboard disk 
was wanting. We sought for it in vain. The seance ended ; 
I conducted my guests once more into the antechamber. M. 
Richet was the first to open the door — well bolted on the 
inside. What was not his surprise when he perceived near 
to the threshold of the door, on the other side of it, upon the 
staircase, the disk that we had sought for so long. He 
picked it up; and it was identified by all as the card 
placed under the glass." 



§ 5. Experiments at Warsaw — 1893-4 

Dr. Ochorowicz, having became greatly interested in the 
phenomena he had observed, induced Eusapia to come to 
Warsaw, in order to be studied at length by himself and his 
friends. In all, forty seances were held, as many as twenty 
persons being present at some of the seances, which included 
a number of men and women eminent in science, philosophy, 
and letters. Whatever we may think of the phenomena, 
therefore, we can, under such circumstances, hardly con- 
clude that the observed phenomena were hallucinatory in 
character ! 

Partial and complete levitations of the table; movements 
of objects without contact (witnessed by more than a hun- 
dred persons) ; touches, and visible hands (seen by fifteen 
persons) ; levitations of the medium on to the table (witnessed 
by five persons) ; luminous phenomena (witnessed by thirteen 
persons) ; abnormal marks, etc., upon paper (witnessed by 
twenty persons) ; exteriorization of sensibility, and instances 
of clairvoyance, were all observed at this series of seances. 

Dr. Ochorowicz observed that all the seances began and 



Eusapia Palladino 37 

nearly all closed with levitations of the table — even though 
these might not be wanted ! He cites cases in which levi- 
tations were obtained while both the medium's feet were 
visible in the light, and other cases in which the feet were 
tied and held under the table by a sitter, kneeling under it. 

One case of great interest is given, in which Eusapia ap- 
proached her finger tips to within a few centimeters of a 
small bell, that had been suspended by means of a thread 
from a metal arch, and, moving her fingers to and fro, the 
bell followed their movements, "as though moved by an in- 
visible thread." It is not definitely stated, however, that a 
thread was not employed — though the hands were examined 
immediately after the manifestation, and nothing abnormal 
was found upon them. The phenomenon must be set down 
as inconclusive, though it should be recorded, as it has been 
produced a number of times lately under test conditions. 

On January 7, 1894, a seance was held without a table, 
in order that the force of the medium might not be 
dispersed in mechanical phenomena. Eusapia soon went into 
trance. Speaking in the name of "John," the medium said: 

"You have taken away the table in order that you may 
see the legs of the medium! Allez! I am going to show you 
that I do everything by the aid of the medium's legs!" 

"Saying this, Eusapia extended her legs, and laid her feet 
on the knees of Professor Prus-Glowacki. The medium then 
said: 'Look, I knock the table with my left leg.' At the 
same time she struck the knee of M. Prus-Glowacki with 
her left foot ; and simultaneously strong blows resounded be- 
hind the curtain, very like those which would be given by 
the leg striking against the table, which was in the cabinet, 
against the wall, two meters from her." 

Instances are then given of levitations of the medium, 
which Dr. Ochorowicz considers undoubted, luminous phe- 



38 Eusapia Palladino 

nomena, touchings (during some of which both of Eusapia's 
hands were held by one sitter), materializations of hands, 
various abnormal marks, cold wind, etc. Several impro- 
vised or "unofficial" seances were also held, which, Dr. 
Ochorowicz informs us, "strangely enough, restore the 
forces" — while the official seances, held under strict, scien- 
tific conditions, only irritated the medium and exhausted 
them. 

Dr. Ochorowicz concluded that the objective character 
of the facts was proved beyond all reasonable doubt ; and that 
genuine supernormal phenomena were observed. As to their 
interpretation, that is another matter ! He is inclined to the 
belief that John is not a real person, but is a "subliminal 
creation of the medium" — a sort of reflex of her unconscious 
thinking, which has the capacity of externalizing itself in 
space, and producing real, objective ejects in the physical 
world. However, we shall come to this in the chapter de- 
voted to theories. 



§ 6. Experiments at He Roubaud — 1894 

In July, 1894, a series of four seances was held in Pro- 
fessor Richet's house, on the ile Roubaud. These sittings 
were held by Professor Charles Richet, Sir Oliver Lodge, 
Mr. F. W. H. JVfyers, and Dr. Ochorowicz. The island was 
owned by Professor Richet, and inasmuch as the sittings oc- 
curred in his own house with doors and windows locked, when 
all the servants had retired, it seemed conclusive to the inves- 
tigators that confederates of any sort were excluded. 

It is unnecessary in this place to give a resume of Pro- 
fessor Lodge's report, which deals with general subjects al- 
ready familiar to students of Eusapia's sittings, and which 



Eusapia Palladino 39 

have been covered more or less thoroughly in this volume 
already. Explanations were offered of the various instru- 
ments and paraphernalia employed, a summary of the phe- 
nomena given, and lengthy discussions on the various possi- 
ble explanations — fraud, illusion, hallucination, etc. 

Dealing with the question of fraud, Dr. Lodge offered 
the following remarks, which I think further investigations 
have fully warranted and justified. 

"I happen to have had only good sittings with Eusapia, 
and my own experience of what was likely to happen in the 
others was based upon what happened when she was not en- 
tranced at all. Judging from that experience, I thought it 
not unlikely that she may sometimes somnambulicly attempt 
to achieve effects which she thinks desired, in what may 
readily appear a fraudulent manner. Later experience with 
sittings of a less uniformly successful character, though it 
has not so far verified that conjecture, leads me to supple- 
ment it with the further opinions, ( I ) that it must be pos- 
sible, by sufficient precaution, to check such attempts, even if 
made; and (2) that if undue latitude were given, it would 
be reasonable to expect some such attempt sooner or later. 
. . . All danger of unfair accusation will be avoided if sit- 
ters will only have the common sense to treat her not as a 
scientific person engaged in a demonstration, but as a deli- 
cate piece of apparatus, wherewith they themselves are mak- 
ing an investigation. She is an instrument, whose ways and 
idiosyncrasies must be learned, and to a certain extent 
humored, just as one studies and humors the ways of some 
much less delicate piece of physical apparatus turned out by 
a skilled instrument maker." 

Various points of interest were discussed, showing the ef- 
fect of light on the phenomena, the nature of the objects 
moved, the source of the energy, the seat of the reaction, 
and the study of the sympathetic movements of the medium. 



40 Eusapia Palladino 

Parts of these passages I have quoted elsewhere. In a sum- 
mary and conclusion, Dr. Lodge stated his position as fol- 
lows: 

"However the facts are to be explained, the possibility of 
the facts I am constrained to admit. There is no further 
room in my mind for doubt. Any person without invincible 
prejudice who had had the same experience, would have 
come to the same broad conclusion, viz. : That things hither- 
to held impossible do actually occur. If one such fact is 
clearly established, the conceivability of others may be more 
readily granted, and I concentrated my attention mainly on 
what seemed to me the most simple and definite thing, viz.: 
the movement of an untouched object, in sufficient light 
for no doubt of its motion to exist. This I have now wit- 
nessed several times ; the fact of movement being vouched for 
by both sight and hearing, sometimes also by touch, and the 
objectivity of the phenomena being demonstrated by the 
sounds heard by an outside observer, and by permanent alter- 
ation and position of object. . . . Instead of action at a dis- 
tance in the physical sense, what I have observed may be said 
to be more like vitality at a distance — the action of a living 
organism exerted in unusual directions and over a range 
greater than the ordinary. . . . The effect on an observer is 
usually more as if the connecting link, if any, were invisible 
and intangible, or as if a portion of vital or directing energy 
had been detached, and were producing distant movements 
without apparent connection with the medium. . . . The re- 
sult of my experience is to convince me that certain phe- 
nomena usually considered abnormal do belong to the order 
of nature, and, as a corollary to this, that these phenomena 
ought to be investigated and recorded by persons and societies 
interested in natural knowledge." (p. 360 Journal S. P. R., 
Nov., 1894.) 

At the conclusion of the meeting at which Dr. Lodge's 
paper was read, Mr. Myers, and Professor and Mrs. Sidgwick, 
offered corroborative testimony of Dr. Lodge's position, and 



Eusapia Palladino 41 

Sir William Crookes rose to point out the similarities be- 
tween Eusapia's phenomena and many of those he had wit- 
nessed in the presence of D. D. Home. Some of his remarks 
are worthy of quoting in this connection — affording, as they 
do, strong confirmatory evidence of the reality of these phe- 
nomena. He said: 

"When he (Home) was not in a state of trance, we fre- 
quently had movements of objects from different parts of the 
room, with visible hands carrying flowers about, and play- 
ing the accordion. On one occasion I was asked by Home 
to look at the accordion as it was playing in the semidark- 
ness beneath the table. I saw a delicate-looking female hand 
holding it by the handle, and the keys at the lower end rising 
and falling, as if fingers were playing on them, although I 
could not see them. So lifelike was the hand that at first I 
said it was my sister-in-law's, but was assured by all present 
that both her hands were on the table, a fact which I then 
verified for myself. 

"The best cases of Home's levitation I witnessed were in 
my own house. On one occasion he went to a clear part of the 
room, and, after standing quietly for a minute, told us he 
was rising. I saw him rise up with a continuous gliding 
movement and remained about six inches off the ground for 
several seconds, when he slowly descended. On this occa- 
sion no one moved from their places. On another occa- 
sion, I was invited to come to him when he rose eighteen 
inches off the ground, and I passed my hands under his feet, 
round him, and over his head when he was in the air. 

"On several occasions Home and the chair on which he 
was sitting at the table rose off the ground. This was gen- 
erally dene vtry deliberately, and Home sometimes then 
tucked up his feet on the seat of the chair, and held up his 
hands in view of all of us. On such an occasion I have got 
down, and seen and felt that all four legs were off the ground 
at the same time, Home's feet being on the chair. Less fre- 
quently the levitating power extended to those sitting next 



42 Eusapia Palladino 

to him. Once my wife was thus raised off the ground in 
her chair. . . . 

"One of the most common occurrences at the seances con- 
sisted in movements of flowers and light objects; sometimes 
those present could see fingers or a complete hand carrying 
things about, but frequently no visible support was to be 
detected. The hands felt warm and lifelike, and if retained, 
would appear to melt away in one's grasp. They were never 
dragged away. 

"One of the most striking things I ever saw in the way of 
movement of light objects was when a glass water bottle and 
tumbler rose from the table. There was plenty of light in 
the room from two large salted alcohol flames, and Home's 
hands were not near. The bottle and glass floated about 
over the middle of the table. I asked if they would answer 
questions by knocking one against the other. Immediately 
three taps together signified 'Yes.' They tnen kept floating 
about six or eight inches up, going from the front of one 
sitter to another, round the table, tapping together, and 
answering questions in this manner. . Quite five minutes was 
occupied by this phenomenon, during which time we had 
ample opportunity of seeing that Home was a passive agent, 
and that no wires or strings, etc., were in use. ... I 
never noticed any sympathetic movements of Home's hands 
or body when objects at a distance were being moved. I 
am certain that in most cases when Home was not in a 
trance he knew no more of what was going to happen than 
did anyone else present. He was an excellent raconteur, and 
by no means kept silent. Frequently he was looking another 
way, engaged in animated conversation with someone at his 
side when the first movements took place, and his attention 
had to be called to them, like the rest of us. He took a 
childlike pleasure in what was going on, and he always de- 
clared that he had no power whatever over the progress of 
the phenomena. 

"General conversation was going on all the time, and on 
many occasions something on the table had moved sometime 
before Home was aware of it. We had to draw his atten- 
tion to such things far oftener than he drew our attention 



Eusapia Palladino 43 

to them. Indeed, he sometimes used to annoy me by his in- 
difference to what was going on. When things were going 
on well, ample opportunity was generally given us to ex- 
amine the occurrences at leisure, and frequently things would 
repeat themselves at request, or small objects, flowers, etc., 
would move about for many minutes, passing from one to 
the other of those present. For my part I was always al- 
lowed to move about and examine what was taking place 
as carefully as I liked. All that we were asked was that 
we should not move suddenly. This was liable to stop the 
phenomena for a short time. 

"The drawback to accurate observation of Eusapia's phe- 
nomena appears to have been the very dim light in which 
most of the things occurred, rendering it necessary to take 
special precautions against possible deception. Had the light 
been better, the elaborate holding of hands, feet, and head 
would have been unnecessary, and the unavoidable suspi- 
cions that the person on the other side had liberated a hand 
would have been impossible. Home always refused to sit in 
the dark. He said that with firmness and perseverance the 
phenomena could be got just as well in the light, and even 
if some of the things were not so strong, the evidence of one's 
eyesight was worth making some sacrifice for. In almost 
all the seances I had with Home, there was plenty of light 
to see all that occurred, and not only enabled me to write 
down notes of what was taking place, but to read my notes 
without difficulty. . . . 

"During the whole of my knowledge of D. D. Home, ex- 
tending over several years, I never once saw the slightest oc- 
currence that would make me suspicious that he was attempt- 
ing to play tricks. He was scrupulously sensitive on this 
point, and never felt hurt at anyone taking precautions 
against deception. He sometimes in the early days of our 
acquaintance used to say to me before a seance : 'Now, Will- 
iam, I want you to act as if I were a recognized conjurer, 
and was going to cheat you and play all the tricks I could. 
Take every precaution you can devise against me, and move 
about, and look under the table, or where else you like. 
Don't consider my feelings ; I shall not be offended. I know 



44 Eusapia Palladino 

that the more carefully I am tested, the more convinced will 
everyone be that these abnormal occurrences are not my own 
doings.' 

"I think it a cruel thing that a man like D. D. Home, 
gifted with such extraordinary powers, and always willing, 
nay, anxious, to place himself at the disposal of men of science 
for investigation, should have lived so many years in London, 
and with one or two exceptions, no one of weight in the 
scientific world should have thought it worth while to look 
into the truth or falsity of things, which were being talked 
about in society on all sides. To those who knew him, 
Home was one of the most lovable of men, and his perfect 
genuineness and uprightness were beyond suspicion ; but by 
those who did not know him, he was called a charlatan, and 
those who believed in him were considered little better than 
lunatics!" 

To return, however, to Professor Lodge's report upon 
Eusapia Palladino, which the above extended quotation is 
merely to support, I now extract from the detailed records 
of sittings, printed as Appendix I, to his paper: 

The first seance, which took place on July 2 1st, com- 
menced at 9.36 p.m. Tilts, levitations, and protuber- 
ances of Eusapia's dress were noted, followed by raps — all 
these in good light. These were followed by a series of 
touches on the back and sides of the controllers. The fol- 
lowing extracts from the records cannot fail to be of in- 
terest : 

"10.24. Light lowered more. M. 1 held both hands in 
the air; L. held her head, and each held one foot. M. 
was again distinctly touched in the back. 

"11.34. L., holding both hands of E., was distinctly 
touched as by a hand on the shoulder and back of head. The 
hairy mass again felt by him. 

1 In all seances of this series, M = Myers, L = Lodge, R = Richet, and O — 
Ochorowicz. 



Eusapia Palladino 45 

"11.36. M.'s chair was again drawn from under him, 
and put on the middle of the table, and M. remained stand- 
ing. The large table drew nearer. Hands and feet of E. 
well held." 

After lights had been seen, and further touches had been 
experienced, the record proceeds: 

"12.04. M. and L., each holding one of E.'s hands firmly 
in the air, R.'s hand was strongly grasped, and held, as by 
a hand, while thirty-one was counted. At request of L., the 
large table then turned itself over on its back behind M., 
and was left with its feet in the air. 

"A light was now struck, and the under surface of table 
(now turned upward) was examined for marks. Nothing 
was found except joiner's lines, which had been there be- 
fore. The table was now half raised so that its legs were 
now horizontal, and its upper surface showed at once a 
large blue scrawl. . . . There was now full light, and the 
seance was understood to have stopped, but E. asked for a 
blue pencil, and when one was found and given her she pro- 
ceeded to cover the tip of her forefinger with blue chalk. 
She then gave this finger to R. to hold, and with it extended, 
she walked up to the vertically standing top surface of the 
large table, and made near, but not touching it, a couple of 
quick cross marks in the air. The blue had then disappeared 
from her finger, and two large blue crosses, sharply drawn, 
not as with finger tip, were found on the back, or far side 
of the table, namely, on one of the side boards of the under 
side, which had been just previously examined for such 
marks. There was no fresh mark on the surface in front of 
which she had made the gestures." 

At 12.35 the seance was resumed, and while R. was holding 
one hand of E., and while M. held both feet and her other 
hand, R. felt a hand move over his head and rest on his 
mouth for some seconds, during which he spoke to the other 



46 Eusapia Palladino 

investigators with his voice muffled. A series of remarkable 
phenomena occurred at 12.49, which were recorded thus: 

"A small cigar box fell onto our table, and a sound was 
heard in the air as of something rapping. R. was holding 
head and right hand ; M. holding left hand, raised it in the 
air, holding it lightly by the tips of his fingers, but with part 
of his own hand free. A saucer containing small shot, from 
another part of the room, was then put into this hand of M. 
in the air. A covered wire of the electric battery came onto 
the table and wrapped itself round R.'s and E.'s hands and 
was pulled till E. called out. Henceforth, R. held her head 
and body; M. kept one hand and both feet, while L. held the 
other hand, and in this position E. made several spasmodic 
movements, each of which was accompanied or followed by 
violent movements of the neighboring round table. 

"12.57. The accordion, which was on the round table, 
got onto the floor, somehow, and began to play single notes. 
Bellier (the stenographer) counted twenty-six of them, and 
then ceased counting. While the accordion played, E.'s 
fingers made movements in the hands of both M. and L., in 
accord with the notes, as if she were playing them at the 
distance with difficulty. The lightly touched quick notes 
were also thus felt by L. with singular precision, sometimes 
the touch failed to elict a response, and this failure was 
usually succeeded by an interval of silence and rest." 

After these phenomena, the small chalet or music box, 
which was on the round table, began to play, approached 
visibly, being seen coming through the air by M. and L., and 
rested on the seance table. It got onto the floor; finally 
Professor Richet said: "Enough of that music!" It then 
stopped, "probably," the report says, "because run down." 

Various touches, under good conditions of control, ended 
the seance; afterwards, however, Professor Richet, when un- 
dressing, found upon his shirt front, which had been covered 



Eusapia Palladino 47 

by a flannel jacket, and a high white waistcoat, a blue 
scrawl, clearly defined. Just before the seance had termi- 
nated, Eusapia had taken one of Mr. Myers' fingers and 
with it executed a scrawl outside Richet's flannel jacket, 
which was buttoned up to the neck. It will be observed that 
several times during this seance phenomena were obtained 
when both of Eusapia's hands were held by the same con- 
troller. 

The second sitting occurred two days later under virtu- 
ally the same conditions. After various minor phenomena, 
the chalet wound itself up and, playing, descended to the 
floor. It ran down, and stopped playing, but while still on 
the floor, it wound itself up again, and rose onto the table 
once more, playing as it came. Eusapia's hands and head 
were well held, and her feet had been placed in a wooden 
apparatus, so constructed that, if she lifted either of them, 
an electric bell would ring immediately, showing that they 
had been removed. The report continues: 

"L. was then permitted to hold both arms and both feet 
(the foot apparatus being removed), and he was then touched 
twice on the back, and grasped distinctly on the left arm. 
E. then held up one of L.'s hands, and with it made two 
small movements, and at each movement a chair not far 
distant grated along the floor, as if pushed or pulled." 

Various touches and levitations ended the seance. 

The third sitting took place two evenings later under the 
same conditions. After various minor phenomena, including 
the production of scent, had been observed, the large table 
was violently dragged about, and raps heard upon it. 
Touches and grasps by hands were then experienced by the 
sitters. The following phenomenon, which must be regarded 
as remarkable, then took place: 



48 Eusapia Palladino 

' While L. held both the medium's hands on the table, 
and also her head, leaning over onto him, away from the 
chalet, and while Richet held both her feet, the suspended 
chalet was heard to be wound partially up three times, with 
three pauses, taking four seconds in all, as heard and recorded 
by Bellier. (The chalet had been suspended from the ceiling 
quite beyond Eusapia's reach.) It did not now begin to 
play, but began to flap, as if its doors were trying to open. 
Soon it began to play, and raps were heard on it. While 
it played, Eusapia's hands waved L.'s hands in the air, in time 
with the music. It was immediately rewound, and went 
on playing sometime. While this was going on the chalet 
began to swing, and the string was heard to break, but in- 
stead of dropping onto the floor, the chalet was gently placed 
on M.'s head, and thence onto the table. This phenomenon 
occurred under quite satisfactory conditions." 

Professor Lodge was told to hold one hand loosely against 
the skirt of Eusapia, still holding her two hands with the 
other, and he then felt his hands gripped quickly several 
times, as by a hand through her dress. He had also several 
distinct hand grasps, as by a bare hand, coming from E.'s 
shoulder, both her real hands being at the time completely 
in his control. He did not succeed in grasping one of these 
pseudo-hands, though other observers did on other occasions. 
"Attempt was now made to prolong one of these pressures. 
A hand was felt on M.'s back, and he began counting seconds, 
when it slapped audibly, and disappeared. Observation made 
in light as to the correct holding of Eusapia's real hands." 

After the seance had been concluded, the following inter- 
esting phenomenon occurred: 

"The clean finger nail of Professor Richet, held by Eusapia, 
was made to act as a blue crayon, and to leave a thick, blue 
pencil mark, when drawn thus along white paper, in full 
candle light. This was done several times, and the forma- 



Eusapia Palladino 49 

tion of the last two of these marks was closely watched by 
all in the light close to a candle. It appeared to L. as if the 
blue did not appear directly under the nail, but slightly to 
one side, as if some invisible protrusion from the fingers of 
Eusapia (which themselves were about half an inch off the 
paper) were really producing it, but he does not vouch for 
this detail, and only records it as a memorandum for future 
observation. [The paper was certainly clean beforehand, 
and the marks could be seen being formed.]" 

The fourth seance was held under virtually the same con- 
ditions, on the evening of the next day. Loud raps were 
heard on the square table adjoining the seance table, and 
lights were seen several times by L. and M. An arm chair 
was made to move several inches in various directions, the 
light being good, and the chair at least four feet from Eusa- 
pia, there being a space visible to all between the chair and 
her body. The window curtain, five feet away, then swelled 
out, and a large face, visible twenty or thirty seconds, was 
observed close to the window. Professor Richet was grasped 
by a large hand, he at the time holding both hands of 
Eusapia. Mr. Myers' wallet of books and papers, weighing 
twelve pounds, was lifted from the floor onto the table. The 
following important phenomenon then occurred: 

"Noise, as of key being fumbled in the door, and Ochoro- 
wicz, from outside, asked who was unlocking the door. Eusa- 
pia's hands were well held, and no one was near the door. 
The clear space of several feet, near the door, was plainly 
enough visible. Blows occurred on the door. The key then 
arrived on the table, and was felt there by L. It disappeared 
again, and was heard to be replacing itself in the door, with 
a sound as of the door being locked (or unlocked) ; then the 
key came again onto the table, into Richet's hand, and stayed 
there. [At the beginning of the seance, the door had been 
locked, and at the end it was still locked. Judging by sound, 



50 Eusapia Palladino 

it had probably been unlocked and locked again during this 
episode. The door certainly remained shut all the time.] 

"Richet saw an indistinct, black, square-looking object, 
which seemed to prolong the key when it was brought toward 
his hand. There was light enough to see the position of 
everybody's normal hands all the time on this occasion, and 
we were sitting some four or five feet distant from the door. 
[It was a perfectly distinct phenomenon.] 

"Richet next saw something detached, like a bird in the 
air, going to M.'s head. At the instant he saw it touch, M. 
called out that he was touched on the head. 

"L., R., and M. then all saw the curious imitation hand, or 
feather fingers, stretched horizontally over the vertical gap 
between the half-open shutters; a thing which L. had sev- 
eral times seen before. 

"M. was seized from behind while standing, and vigor- 
ously pulled and shaken about, while all four were standing, 
holding hands around the table. L. saw him moving, and 
felt a transmitted pull. A loaf, and other objects, from the 
buffet, hard by, arrived on the table, and a pile of five plates. 
Our small table was in front of the buffet. Everybody was 
now standing up, and observers were getting tired, so we 
asked to stop ; but agency insisted on continuing. Statement 
made that the medium needed refreshment, but the agency 
said it could see to that. A gurgling noise was heard, as 
if the medium was drinking from a bottle, and directly after- 
wards a decanter with water, which had been on the top shelf 
of the buffet, arrived on the table. Then it rose again to 
the medium's mouth, where it was felt horizontally by Richet, 
and again she drank. It then came again onto the table, and 
stayed there." 

After the seance had been concluded, the medium was 
conducted to a writing desk in a corner of the room. She 
made three movements with her hand, and the desk was 
tilted backward, after an interval of a second or two. She 
moved farther away and repeated the action, and the same 
movement of the desk occurred, but with more delay. When 



Eusapia Palladino 51 

standing two meters from the desk, she did the same thing, 
and the desk again tilted, but not until two seconds after the 
motion made by her hand. 

Appendix II to Professor Lodge's paper consists in a list 
of appliances that would be needed for a psychical laboratory. 
Their uses are also pointed out. Thus, a registering balance 
would be necessary, to test losses and gains in the weight of 
medium, before, during, and after seances. A clock, ther- 
mometer, and barometer would be essential, and instruments 
for recording the medium's temperature, muscular exertion, 
pulse, breathing, etc. : and these should all be registered au- 
tomatically by apparatus outside the room. Means for ob- 
taining graphic records should, therefore, be supplied. Special 
chairs and tables should be provided; and the method of 
graphic record should be applied to registering levitations of 
the table. Elaborate arrangements for variations of the 
amount of light should be made, and, if possible, means should 
be invented for obtaining a number of photographs secretly 
from without the room. A number of cameras should be 
operated simultaneously through various openings, and the 
room might be flooded with invisible, ultraviolet light — suf- 
ficient to obtain photographs, but which would be unknown 
to the medium. Other devices, such as smoked surfaces, wet 
clay, etc., for obtaining an imprint of the hands, should also 
be provided, together with such additional instruments and 
appliances as future experiments and experience might sug- 
gest. 

§ 7. Experiments at Cambridge — 1895 

When this Report was issued, Dr. Richard Hodgson, then 
Secretary of the S. P. R. for America, challenged the conclu- 
sive nature of the sittings, and pointed out what, in his esti- 



52 Eusapia Palladino 

mation, were numerous defects in the record — showing that 
it might have been possible, on seme occasions, for the me- 
dium to have resorted to trickery. He suggested various ways 
by which Eusapia might have released one hand or one foot. 
He contended that the holding was not sufficiently described, 
and suggested substitution of dummy hands and feet instead 
of those held by the sitters. The actual detail of the hand 
and foot holding was, he contended, the essential feature, and 
this was insufficiently described. As to the levitations of the 
table, Dr. Hodgson suggested that they might have been ac- 
complished by means of a hook inserted under its edge, and 
attached to a strap passing over Eusapia's shoulders. Other 
critical remarks of a general nature were also made. 

This criticism by Dr. Hodgson elicited four replies — one 
from each of the four investigators. They were unanimous 
in declaring that, while Dr. Hodgson's paper was remark- 
able, and his criticisms excellent, and while they admitted 
that further precautions of the kind suggested by him should 
be taken in future, they contended that Dr. Hodgson's 
explanations did not explain all the phenomena witnessed by 
them; nor, indeed, any larger portion of them. Reviewing 
the seances in detail, it was found that some of Dr. Hodg- 
son's criticisms were unjustified, and that, for example, where 
he had said that both of Eusapia's hands were not accounted 
for on any particular occasion, they were in fact amply ac- 
counted for on a number of occasions, while in two or three 
instances, both her hands were held in the hands of one in- 
vestigator. Dr. Lodge in his reply insisted upon this point, 
and he had the support of Professor Richet and Dr. Ochoro- 
wicz, as well as Mr. Myers, whose reply was the most de- 
tailed. 

In spite of these replies, however, Dr. Hodgson apparently 



Eusapia Palladino 53 

remained skeptical, and the result of the disagreement was 
that both Eusapia and Dr. Hodgson were invited to Eng- 
land, and a series of experiments, since famous, and styled 
the "Cambridge Experiments," were held in the house of 
Mr. Myers, in August and September, 1895. The results of 
these sittings will be found described in detail in the Octo- 
ber and November, 1895, issues of the Journal S. P. R. 
(English). 

The results of these seances were entirely negative. Not 
only were the phenomena, comparatively speaking, sparse and 
uninteresting, but fraud was detected in actual operation 
again and again — fraud of a kind which necessitated the 
supposition that the medium had practiced it long and care- 
fully. Details of these seances are unnecessary. It need only 
be said that Dr. Hodgson, and, in a lesser degree, Mr. Nevil 
Maskelyne, of London, detected substitution of hands over 
and over again, and caught her in the act of producing fraud- 
ulent phenomena. The conclusion was, that systematic 
fraud had been used from first to last, and that there was 
no adequate reason to suppose any supernormal agency what- 
ever. Mr. and Mrs. Myers, Miss Johnson, Mrs. Sidgwick, 
Professor Sidgwick, and Dr. Hodgson unanimously "adopted 
the conclusion that nothing but trickery had been at work 
in the Cambridge series of experiments." As a result of 
these sittings, Professor Sidgwick stated that "inasmuch as 
trickery had been systematically practised, apparently, by 
Eusapia Palladino for years, he proposed to ignore her per- 
formances in the future as those of other persons engaged 
in the same mischievous trade were to be ignored." {Journal 
S. P. R., April, 1896.) 

When the results of this exposure were made known, it 
created little less than a furore in the world of psychic re- 



54 Eusapia Palladino 

search. For many days columns of material, and letters pro 
and con, appeared in The Daily Chronicle, The Westminster 
Gazette, The Liverpool Daily Post, The British Medical 
Journal, Light, and other magazines; and it need hardly be 
said that the general effect of the exposure, on the public 
mind, was to impress them even more deeply than ever with 
skepticism, and to confirm their wavering doubt that Eusapia 
was fraudulent from beginning to end. 

Yet there is a reason for the fraud that Eusapia resorted 
to at Cambridge, and those investigators who have had much 
experience with her had no difficulty in pointing out exactly 
what the cause of this was. It has always been well known 
that if Eusapia were allowed to trick her sitters she would do 
so, and the policy of the English investigators had been, not 
to endeavor to prevent phenomena by rigorous control, but to 
allow great laxity, to permit her to substitute her hands when 
she desired, and merely note the results. Eusapia, finding 
that she could effect substitution of hands with ease, and 
apparently without detection, naturally resorted to this de- 
vice at every seance, and the result of this was that fraud 
was almost invariably detected during her English sittings. 
Yet there is doubt if all the phenomena witnessed in Eng- 
land could be accounted for by fraud. Certainly the phe- 
nomena differed considerably from the more striking mani- 
festations witnessed at her genuine seances. Mr. Myers, in 
a letter written to The Daily Chronicle, and published 
November 4, 1895, said: 

"As to the phenomena on the ile Roubaud, in relation to 
those at Cambridge : The best of those observed on the island 
were so different from those at Cambridge that I cannot 
wonder that Professor Lodge should still hold firmly to their 
genuine character." 



Eusapia Palladino 55 

This has been our own experience also. We noted in 
our seances that when Eusapia resorted to fraud, as she did 
occasionally (see p. 182) the character of the resulting phe- 
nomenon was entirely different from the genuine and far more 
striking manifestations which occurred at other times. Fur- 
ther, had the opposite policy been adopted ; had she been pre- 
vented from resorting to fraud instead of allowed to 
do so, very different results would doubtless have been ob- 
tained. It must be remembered, in this connection, that these 
methods of trickery (substitution of hands, etc.) had always 
been known to the Continental investigators; and in their 
previous reports they had several times called attention to 
this aspect of the problem, and stated that Eusapia would in- 
variably resort to trickery unless she were prevented from do- 
ing so. Dr. J. Maxwell, indeed, in his M eta psychical Phe- 
nomena, criticised the results of these Cambridge experiments, 
and said: 

"As far as his (Dr. Hodgson's) experiments with Eusapia 
Palladino are concerned, I will reply to him that in a great 
measure he and his friends were responsible for her frauds, 
and almost wholly responsible for the failure of the experi- 
ments. They appear to have neglected the psychological side 
of a medium's role, and forgot that a medium is not a me- 
chanical instrument. Eusapia was not at her ease, and, if 
my memory serves me right, she found the Cambridge center 
rather disdainful and haughty, save Mr. and Mrs. Myers. 
She was dull and lonely. . . . The seances were too numer- 
ous (there w^ere twenty seances held in less than seven weeks 
— a seance every other day) — if you take into consideration 
her not being very well and consequently unfit for anything 
for a few days. This was making sure of bad results, es- 
pecially as the seances sometimes lasted two and a half to 
three hours. It was impossible for the medium to recruit 
her strength, physically or morally — especially in a country 



56 Eusapia Palladino 

where the manners, life, language, and even the cooking were 
so different from those of Naples. . . . 

"It appears, however, that the first seances were pretty 
good. There were some suspicious things, as is often the case 
with Eusapia. Hodgson's arrival changed everything. It 
was then that fraud was discovered, but a long time after 
Richet and Torelli had pointed it out." 

Then follows a discussion of the method employed by the 
English experimenters, which Dr. Maxwell considered funda- 
mentally wrong. Extracts from the sittings were quoted to 
sustain his position. Dr. Maxwell stated that he, in com- 
mon with other Continental investigators, had proceeded by 
another route, and had obtained very different results. He 
had set about gaining Eusapia's confidence and sympathy, 
and the results of some of his seances appeared to him quite 
conclusive. One or two extracts from seances held by him 
are quoted by way of sustaining his position. I cite one of 
these here, as being of special interest. 

"P. is vigorously touched. Eusapia gives him the control 
of her hands and feet. P. receives ships on the back every 
time Eusapia presses her foot. The noise is distinctly heard. 
P.'s chair is shaken and drawn from under him. Eusapia 
rubs her feet on the floor, 'to give fluid,' she says. Finally, 
P.'s chair is slowly carried on to the seance table. The per- 
sons (Dr. Denuce, Mme. A., and I) for whom P. is be- 
tween the table and the window, see the chair very clearly 
outlined on the window. After having been placed on the 
table, the chair is taken back to the floor, and the second time 
carried on to the table. The movements were slowly produced. 
While they were being produced, the hands, feet, and head 
of the medium were under control. If any part of the me- 
dium's body had touched the chair, the contact would have 
been seen on the silhouette of the chair, the latter standing 
out well against the lighted-up window. While the chair 
is in movement, P. is crouching down on his heels. He is 



Eusapia Palladino 57 

touched on the back. His garments are pulled, he is tickled. 
At the same time the table is levitated. These three manifes- 
tations were produced simultaneously." 

Dr. Maxwell concludes with these words: 

"My judgment will convince no one. In such matters we 
must see for ourselves in order to be convinced. Dr. Hodg- 
son himself knows this to-day. My testimony contradicts 
formally and explicity the conclusions of the Cambridge in- 
vestigators. Eusapia does not always defraud. With us she 
rarely defrauded." 



§ 8. Experiments at l'Agnelas — 1895 

Immediately following the exposure at Cambridge, a com- 
mittee was formed at the house of Colonel De Rochas, in 
September, 1895, consisting of Dr. Dariex, Count De Gram- 
mont, Dr. Maxwell, Professor Sabatier, Baron De Watte- 
ville, and Colonel De Rochas. The report of these seances 
is given in full in M. De Rochas' book, The Exteriorization 
of Motivity — to which I would refer the reader for a de- 
tailed account. It was believed by these experimenters that 
the Cambridge exposure had been incomplete and more or 
less superficial ; and it was determined to test again Eusapia's 
powers, and to see whether or not genuine phenomena could 
be obtained when Eusapia was prevented from resorting to 
trickery. The investigators seem to have been exceedingly 
careful in their method of procedure, the hands and feet were 
well controlled, and are accurately described by Colonel De 
Rochas. Here, e.g., is the method of control during the third 
seance — which was the first official seance held — all members 
of the Committee being present. 

"At a quarter to nine, Dr. Dariex, upon the request of the 
medium, returned to her right side. He seated himself on the 



58 Eusapia Palladino 

little tabouret, in the angle formed by the medium and M. 
Sabatier. Eusapia then places her two legs between those 
of Dr. Dariex, and rests her two feet upon the tabouret. 
The right arm and the right hand of Dr. Dariex supports 
her knees and her thighs. In that position, the feet, the legs, 
the knees, and the thighs of the medium are continually con- 
trolled; the contact is constant, so that the least movement 
of the lower members of the medium can be accounted for. 
This position of the legs was retained to the end of the 
seance; at the same time Eusapia rests her head against that 
of Dr. Dariex, and the latter also shares in the control of the 
right arm and the right hand, twining his left arm around 
the arm of Eusapia, in such a manner that the bend of the 
elbow encircles the lower part of the arm, so that the forearm 
of Dr. Dariex comes in contact with the forearm of the me- 
dium, and his hand rests on the back of her wrist ; moreover, 
by the tips of his ringers, Dr. Dariex touches the hand of M. 
Sabatier, which holds the right hand of Eusapia. 

"To sum up, he holds the medium in such a manner that 
he is sure of her lower limbs, her right hand and her right 
wrist, which do not leave the table, and of her head, which 
does not leave his head. Dr. Maxwell always holds the left 
hand ; M. Sabatier the right hand very securely." 

It must not be assumed that the control throughout the 
whole series of seances was as complete as on this particular 
occasion, but it seems to have been accurately governed and ac- 
curately recorded throughout, and it would appear to me that 
any impartial critic must be forced into the belief that on very 
rare occasions could Eusapia have freed one hand or one foot, 
and with it produced spurious phenomena. Without going 
into detail regarding the control throughout these seances, 
therefore, I shall give a brief resume of the phenomena ob- 
served — since the control will be stated in great detail during 
our own series of seances, to be recorded later on. 

Various movements of the table and curtain phenomena 



Eusapia Palladino 59 

usually commenced the seance. Loud raps occurred, the toy 
piano was brought from the cabinet onto the seance table, 
and the large arm chair partly rose into the air, its feet 
keeping time with the music. Invisible hands touched the 
sitters, pulling their hair and pinching them. Chairs and 
other articles of furniture were piled onto the table without 
apparent cause — both hands of Eusapia being well held, it 
is asserted, at the time. Indeed, Eusapia invariably announced 
in advance the character of the phenomenon which was about 
to take place, and asked that the control should be thoroughly 
verified. 

It would be useless to supply similar details of all the 
seances held at l'Agnelas, which were of very similar char- 
acter — progressing in excellence as the seances proceeded, and 
which finally convinced the sitters that genuine phenomena 
had been obtained under excellent conditions of control, and 
that, in spite of the Cambridge exposure, Eusapia's medium- 
ship was undoubted. 



§ 9. Experiments at Naples — 1895 

Meanwhile, in 1895, a new series of experiments had been 
held in Naples, under the direction of Dr. Paolo Visani- 
Scozzi, Professor of Nervous Diseases at Florence. 

Four seances were held, which were also attended by Dr. 
Visani, Countess Helena Mainardi, Professor Chiaia, and 
others. Precautions were taken against fraud — which, how- 
ever, are not detailed in the report — and the following phe- 
nomena were observed and vouched for by the experimenters : 

1. In plain light: Movements of objects without contact; 
levitations of the table, raps — which frequently kept time to 
music — and answered questions. 



60 Eusapia Palladino 

2. In semidarkness (the light being sufficient to dis- 
tinguish all the sitters, however) there occurred: Touches 
by invisible hands; very loud raps on the table; movements 
of chairs, and kisses were heard distinctly in the room. A 
shadow formed near to the medium, as though issuing from 
her, and assumed colossal proportions. During the produc- 
tion of this phenomenon the medium was in deep trance, and 
completely immobile. 

3. In complete darkness: Movements of the table, chairs, 
and other objects (which were sometimes, when the lights 
were relighted, found to be turned upside down). The 
formation of hands, which touched the sitters, the forma- 
tion of invisible heads, which gave kisses and rubbed the 
faces of the sitters with their silky beards; the formation 
of a misty ball, which emitted a whitish light; and the for- 
mation of a phantom, which assumed the form of a very 
large man. 

A trumpet, a tambourine, and a bell played at the same 
thne, all being raised in the air simultaneously. All the fur- 
niture in the room was then moved about. In tune to a 
march played by the above-mentioned instruments, the table 
promenaded toward the door, keeping time to the music with 
its feet — while the medium, half asleep, was dragged with her 
chair along with the table. 

The most important phenomenon was an imprint of a 
hand and of a face, obtained in clay, which in no way re- 
sembled those of the medium. 

Although these seances were striking in character, we can- 
not, unfortunately, attribute to them much evidential value, 
since the conditions of the experiments, and particularly the 
manner of controlling the medium, were very insufficiently 
recorded throughout. 



Eusapia Palladino 61 

§ 10. Experiments at Tremezzo, at Auteuil, and at 
Choisy- Yvrac — 1 896 

In 1896 an interesting seance was held at Tremezzo, which 
was accurately recorded by Mme. Z. Blech. Various inter- 
esting phenomena were observed, when both hands of Eusapia 
were distinctly seen, resting upon the table. Four days later 
a new series of seances was held at Auteuil, under the direc- 
tion of Dr. Dariex, M. Desdeaux, M. Guerronnan, M. Mar- 
cel Mangin, and M. Sully-Prudhomme. The result of the 
seven seances was, again, to convince the sitters of Eusapia' s 
undoubted supernormal powers. 

Following these experiments, a new series of seances was 
held at Choisy- Yvrac, which were attended by M. Maxwell, 
Count de Grammont, Count de Watteville, Colonel de 
Pvochas, and other well-known investigators. The usual phe- 
nomena were observed, and, in addition, various experiments 
were tried, such as the effects of electricity upon the medium 
and the phenomena; magnetizing and hypnotizing the me- 
dium — an interesting account of which will be found in 
Colonel de Rochas' book, before referred to. It was ascer- 
tained, apparently, that electricity in some manner increased 
her "forces," and assisted in the levitation of a small stool, 
which she had been unable to raise. As, however, such levi- 
tations have been obtained at various times without any elec- 
trical apparatus, its value seems doubtful. 

§ 11. Experiments at Naples — 1897 

In April, 1897, sittings were held at Naples by MM. 
Ernest Mayer, and Leon Boulloche. These were followed 
by a seance held in June, in Rome, by M. de Siemiradski — 
followed again by seances held in Paris in July, and later in 



62 Eusapia Palladino 

the same month at Mont fort l'Amaury. These latter seances, 
which are by far the most noteworthy, were attended by M. 
de Fontenay, who published a lengthy report, and has since 
written a book, Apropos ctEusapia Palladino, based largely 
upon these sittings. Since then, M. de Fontenay has obtained 
a number of seances, and has especially devoted himself to 
the task of photographing the phenomena, and particularly 
the heads, faces, and hands that are supposed to materialize 
at Eusapia's seances. In an article entitled Fraud, and the 
Hypothesis of Hallucination, in the Study of the Phenomena 
Produced by Eusapia Palladino {Annals of Psychical Science, 
April, 1908), M. de Fontenay succeeded in photographing 
various hands appearing over Mme. Palladino's head — one 
of which, particularly, is of interest, inasmuch as both the 
medium's hands are seen (in the photograph) to be securely 
held by her investigators outside the cabinet. The "hand" 
in this case, however, does not appear to be a fully formed 
hand, but rather a claw, or an exceedingly malformed or 
half-formed hand. M. de Fontenay was forced to the con- 
clusion that he had on this occasion photographed "matter 
in the course of condensation" — i.e., a materialization. It 
is true that other photographs taken by M. de Fontenay are 
far less convincing, but, as he himself says, "in any case one 
point is settled — the appearance of hands in the vicinity of 
Eusapia are not generally hallucinatory, nor are the forma- 
tions of lights, which are observed to occur with this me- 
dium. If my photographs prove no more than this, their im- 
portance would not be negligible." 

§ 12. Experiments at Montfort l'Amaury — 1897 

In 1897 a short series of three seances was held at the 
home of M. Blech, at Montfort l'Amaury. M. Blech, Mme. 



Eusapia Palladino 63 

Blech, Mme. Z. Blech, and Mile. A. Blech, together with 
M. G. de Fontenay, formed the circle at first, and they were 
afterwards joined by M. Flammarion. These seances seem 
to have been very successful in character, a great variety of 
phenomena being obtained under what appear to be good 
conditions of control. A full account of these seances will 
be found in M. de Fontenay's book, Apropos d'Eusap'ia Palla- 
dino, to which I would refer the reader for an exhaustive 
discussion of these sittings, and accompanying theoretical 
data. The book is a remarkable one, and is well worthy 
of careful perusal. M. Flammarion, who was present at 
one of these seances, gives us a vivid picture of the course of 
events, which I quote from his own book, Mysterious Psychic 
Forces, pp. 70-75 : 

"Five raps in the table indicate, according to a convention 
arranged by the medium, that the unknown cause seeks for 
less light. This is always annoying; I have already said 
what I think of this. The candles are blown out, the lamp 
turned down, but the light is strong enough for us to see 
very distinctly everything that takes places in the salon. The 
round table, which I had lifted and set aside, approaches the 
table and tries several times to climb up on it. I lean upon it, 
in order to keep it down, but I experience an elastic resist- 
ance and am unable to do so. The free edge of the round 
table places itself on the edge of the rectangular table, but, 
hindered by its triangular foot, it does not succeed in clear- 
ing itself sufficiently to climb upon it. Since I am holding 
the medium I ascertain that she makes no effort of the kind 
that would be needed for this style of performance. 

"The curtain swells out and approaches my face. It is 
at this moment that the medium falls into a trance. She ut- 
ters sighs and lamentations and only speaks now in the third 
person, saying that she is John King, a psychic personality 
who claims to have been her father in another existence, and 
who calls her 'My daughter.' 



64 Eusapia Palladino 

"Five new taps ask for still less light, and the lamp is al- 
most completely turned down, but not extinguished. The 
eyes, growing accustomed to the clare-obscure, still distin- 
guish pretty well what is taking place. 

"The curtain swells out again, and I feel that I am 
touched on the shoulder, through the stuff of the curtain, as 
if by a closed fist. The chair in the cabinet, upon which are 
placed the music box and the bell, is violently shaken, and 
the objects fall to the floor. The medium again asks for less 
light, and a red photographic lantern is placed upon the piano, 
the light of the lamp being extinguished. The control is 
rigorously kept up, the medium agreeing to it with the great- 
est docility. 

"For about a minute the music box plays intermittent airs 
behind the curtain, as if it was turned by some hand. 

"The curtain moves forward again toward me, and a 
rather strong hand seizes my arm. I immediately reach for- 
ward to seize the hand, but I grasp only the empty air. I 
then press the two legs of the medium between mine, and I 
take her left hand in my right. On the other side, the right 
hand is firmly held in the left hand of M. de Fontenay. 
Then Eusapia brings the hand of the last named toward my 
cheek, and imitates upon the cheek, with the finger of M. de 
Fontenay, the movement of a little revolving crank or handle. 
The music box, which has one of these handles, plays at the 
same time behind the curtain in perfect synchronism. The 
instant that Eusapia's hand stops, the music stops; all the 
movements correspond, just as in the Morse telegraph 
system. . . . 

"I feel several touches on the back and on the side. 
M. de Fontenay receives a sharp slap on the back that every- 
body hears. A hand passes through my hair. The chair of 
M. de Fontenay is violently pulled, and a few moments after- 
wards he cries, 'I see the silhouette of a man passing between 
M. Flammarion and me, above the table, shutting out the red 
light!' ^ 

"This thing is repeated several times. I do not myself 
succeed in seeing this silhouette. I then propose to M. de 
Fontenay that I take his place, for, in that case, I should be 



Eusapia Palladino 6$ 

likely to see it also. I soon distinctly perceive a dim sil- 
houette passing before the red lantern, but I do not recognize 
any precise form. It is only an opaque shadow (the profile 
of a man) which advances as far as the light and retires. 

"In a moment, Eusapia says there is some one behind the 
curtain. After a slight pause she adds: 

" 'There is a man by your side, on the right ; he has a 
great soft forked beard.' I ask if I may touch this beard. 
In fact, while lifting my hand, I feel rather a soft beard 
brushing against it. 

"A block of paper is put on the table with a lead pencil, 
with the hope of getting writing. The pencil is flipped clear 
across the room. I then take the block of paper and hold it 
in the air: it is snatched violently from me, in spite of all 
my efforts to retain it. At this moment, M. de Fontenay, 
with his back turned to the light, sees a hand (a white hand 
and not a shadow), the arm showing as far as the elbow, 
holding the block of paper; but all the others declare that 
they only see the paper shaking in the air. 

"I did not see the hand snatch the packet of paper from 
me ; but only a hand could have been able to seize it with such 
violence, and this did not appear to be the hand of the me- 
dium, for I held her right hand in my left, and the paper with 
arm extended in my right hand, and M. de Fontenay de- 
clared that he did not let go her left hand. 

"I was struck several times in the side, touched on the 
head, and my ear was smartly pinched. I declare that after 
several repetitions I had enough of this ear-pinching; but 
during the whole seance, in spite of my protestations, some- 
body kept hitting me. 

"The little round table, placed outside of the cabinet, at 
the left of the medium, approaches the table, climbs clear up 
on it and lies across it. The guitar in the cabinet is heard 
moving about and giving out sounds. The curtain is puffed 
out, and the guitar is brought upon the table, resting upon 
the shoulder of M. de Fontenay. It is then laid upon the 
table, the large end toward the medium. Then it rises and 
moves over the heads of the company without touching them. 
It gives forth several sounds. The phenomenon lasts about 



66 Eusapia Palladino 

fifteen seconds. It can readily be seen that the guitar is 
floating in the air, and the reflection of the red lamp glides 
over its shining surface. A rather bright gleam, pear-shaped, 
is seen on the ceiling of the other corner of the room. 

"The medium, who is tired, asks for rest. The candles 
are lighted. Mme. Blech returns the objects to their places, 
ascertains that the cakes of putty are intact, places the small- 
est upon a little round table and the large one upon the chair 
in the cabinet, behind the medium. The sitting is resumed 
by the feeble glimmer of the red lantern. 

"The medium, whose hands and feet are carefully con- 
trolled by M. de Fontenay and myself, breathes heavily. 
Above her head the snapping of ringers is heard. She still 
pants, groans, and sinks her fingers into my hand. Three 
raps are heard. She cries, 'It is done!' M. de Fontenay 
brings the little dish beneath the light of the red lantern and 
discovers the impression of four fingers in the putty, in the 
position which they had taken when she had gripped my 
hand. 1 

" Seats are taken, the medium asks for rest, and a little 
light is turned on. 

"The sitting is soon resumed as before, by the extremely 
feeble light of the red lantern. John is spoken of as if he 

1 Professor Chiaia, of Naples, writes, a propos of these impressions in clay: 
"I have imprints in boxes of clay weighing anywhere between sixty-five and 
sixty-eight pounds. I mention the weight in order to let you see the impos- 
sibility of lifting and transporting with one hand alone so heavy a tray — even 
upon the supposition that Eusapia might, unknown to us, free one of her hands. 
In almost every case, in fact, this tray, placed upon a chair, three feet behind the 
medium, was brought forward and placed very gently upon the table about 
which we were seated. The transfer was made with such nicety that the per- 
sons who formed the chain and held firmly the hands of Eusapia did not hear 
the least noise, did not perceive the least rustling. We were forewarned of the 
arrival of the tray upon the table by several taps, which, according to our con- 
ventional arrangement, 'John' struck in the wall to inform us that we could 
turn on the light. I did so at once by turning the cock of the gas fixture, which 
was suspended above the table. [We had never completely extinguished it.] 
We then found the tray upon the table, and, upon the clay, the imprint which 
we supposed must have been made before its transfer, and while it was behind 
Eusapia, in the cabinet where 'John' usually materializes and manifests him- 
self." 




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Eusapia Palladino 67 

existed, as if it was he whose head we perceived in silhouette ; 
he is asked to continue his manifestations, and to show the 
impression of his head in the putty, as he has already several 
times done. Eusapia replies that it is a difficult thing and 
asks us not to think of it for a moment, but to go on speaking. 
These suggestions of hers are always disquieting, and we re- 
double our attention, though without speaking much. The 
medium pants, groans, writhes. The chair in the cabinet 
comes forward and places itself by the side of the medium, 
then it is lifted and placed upon the head of Mme. Z. Blech, 
while the tray is lightly placed in the hands of M. Blech, at 
the other end of the table. Eusapia cries that she sees before 
her a head and a bust, and says E fatto' (It is done). We 
do not believe her, because M. Blech has not felt any pressure 
on the dish. Three violent blows as of a mallet are struck 
upon the table. The light is turned on, and a human profile 
is found imprinted in the putty. Mme. Z. Blech kisses Eu- 
sapia upon both cheeks, for the purpose of finding out whether 
her face has not some odor (glazier's putty having a very 
strong odor of linseed oil, which remains for sometime upon 
the fingers). She discovers nothing abnormal. . . ." 



§ 13. Experiments in Paris — 1898 

In November, 1898, Eusapia went to Paris on the invita- 
tion of a scientific committee, composed of MM. Flamma- 
rion, Charles Richet, A. de Rochas, Victorien Sardou, Jules 
Claretie, Adolphe Brisson, Rene Baschet, Arthur Levy, Gus- 
tave Le Bon, Jules Bois, Gaston Mery, G. Delanne, G. de 
Fontenay, G. Armelin, Andre Bloch, etc. These seances 
were held in M. Flammarion's salon under. good conditions 
of control. Before each seance, Eusapia was undressed and 
dressed in the presence of two ladies. The following inci- 
dents are taken from the reports of various members of 
this committee, which follow one another, and which I shall 
briefly summarize here. The full account of these seances 



68 Eusapia Palladino 

is to be found in M. Flammarion's book, Mysterious Psychic 
Forces. 

M. Arthur Levy records one case, typical of a number 
of others, of the depression of a spring-balance letter-weight 
of the ordinary kind: 

"While we are talking some one puts a letter weight on 
the table. Putting her hands down on each side of the letter 
weigher, and at a distance of four inches, she causes the 
needle to move to No. 35, engraved on the dial place of the 
scales. Eusapia herself asked us to convince ourselves, by 
inspection, that she did not have a hair leading from one 
hand to the other, and with which she could fraudulently 
press upon the tray of the letter weigher. This little by- 
play took place when all the lamps of the salon were fully 
lighted. . . ." 

At this seance, a series of remarkable events transpired 
in rapid succession. After describing a number of minor phe- 
nomena, and finally a struggle between himself and two in- 
visible hands over the possession of a tambourine, in which 
he was worsted, M. Levy continues: 

"Eusapia utters repeated cries — a kind of rattling in the 
throat. She writhes nervously, and, as if she were calling 
for help, cries: 'The chain, the chain!' We thereupon form 
the chain by taking hold of hands. Then, just as if she were 
defying some monster, she turns, with inflamed looks, to- 
ward an enormous divan, which thereupon marches up to us. 
She looks at it with a satanic smile. Finally, she blows upon 
the divan, which goes immediately back to its place. . . . 

"Eusapia was evidently very tired; her burning hands 
seemed to contract or shrivel ; she gasped aloud with heaving 
breast, her foot quitting mine every moment, scraping the 
floor and tediously rubbing along it back and forth. She 
uttered hoarse, panting cries, shrugging up her shoulders 
and sneering. The sofa came forward when she looked at 
it, then recoiled before her breath ; all the instruments were 



Eusapia Palladino 69 

thrown pellmell upon the table ; the tambourine rose almost 
to the height of the ceiling; the cushions took part in the 
sport, overturning everything on the table; M. M. was 
thrown from his chair. This chair — a heavy dining-room 
chair of black walnut, with stuffed seat — rose into the air, 
came up on the table with a great clatter, then was pushed 
off. . . ." 

At a seance held September 26, 1896, the following in- 
cident occurred: 

"A dark bust moves forward upon the table, coming from 
where Eusapia sits; then another, and still another. 'They 
look like Chinese ghosts,' says M. Mangin, 'with this dif- 
ference, that I, who am better placed, owing to the light 
from the window, am able to perceive the dimensions of 
these singular images, and, above all, their thickness.' All 
these black busts are busts of women, of life size ; but, al- 
though vague, they do not look like Eusapia. The last of 
them, of fine shape, is that of a woman who seems young and 
pretty. These half lengths, which seem to emanate from the 
medium, glide along between us ; and when they have gone as 
far as the middle of the table, or two thirds of its length, 
they sink down altogether (all of a piece, as it were) and 
vanish. This rigidity makes me think of the reproductions, 
or facsimiles, of a bust escaped from a sculptor's atelier, 
and I murmur, 'One would think he was looking at busts 
molded in papier mache' Eusapia hears me. 'No, not 
papier mache! she says indignantly. She does not give any 
other explanation, but says (this time in Italian) : 'In order 
to prove to you that it is not the body of the medium, I 
am going to show you a man with a beard. Attention !' I 
do not see anything, but Dr. Dariex feels his face rubbed 
against for quite a time by a beard." 

Dr. Le Bon, speaking of the one seance he attended, says: 

"Eusapia is undoubtedly a marvellous subject. It struck 
me as something wonderful that, while I was holding her 



70 Eusapia Palladino 

hand, she was playing on an imaginary tambourine, to which 
the sounds of the tambourine that was behind the curtain 
accurately corresponded. I do not see how any trick is pos- 
sible in such a case, any more than in the case of the table. 

"My cigarette holder was grasped by a very strong hand, 
which wrenched the object from me with a good deal of 
energy. I was on my guard and asked to see the experiment 
again. The phenomenon was so singular, and so beyond 
all that we can comprehend, that we must first try natural 
explanations : 

"i. It is impossible that it could have been Eusapia. I 
was holding one of her hands, and was looking at the other 
arm, and I placed my cigarette holder in such a position that, 
even with two arms free, she would not have been able to 
accomplish such a marvellous thing. 

"2. It is not probable that it could have been an ac- 
complice; but is it not possible that the unconscious mind 
of Eusapia suggested to the unconscious mind of the per- 
son near the curtain to pass a hand behind it and operate 
there? Everybody would be acting in good faith, and would 
have been deceived by the unconscious element. This im- 
portant point ought to be verified, for no experiment would 
be so valuable if it were once demonstrated." 

M. Armelin, in his report of the seance of November 21st, 

writes : 

"At 10.03 the table is lifted clean off its four feet at 
once, at first on the side opposite to the medium, rising about 
eight inches, then it falls abruptly back. While it is in the 
air Eusapia calls to her two neighbors to make sure that 
they are closely holding her hands and her feet, and that she 
is not in contact with the table. . . . Suddenly, M. Anto- 
niadi exclaims that he is enveloped by the curtain, which 
rests upon his shoulders. Eusapia cries: 'What is this that 
is passing over me?' The round table comes forth beneath 
the curtain. Mme. Flammarion, who is standing opposite 
the window, and has kept looking behind the curtain, says 
that she sees some very white object. At the same moment 



Eusapia Palladino 71 

M. Flammarion, Mme. Fourton, and M. Jules Bois exclaim 
that they have just seen a white hand between the curtains, 
above Eusapia's head, and at the same moment M. Mathieu 
says that his hair is being pulled. The hand we saw seemed 
small, like that of a woman or of a child." 

M. Le Bocain asserts that at one of these seances he ad- 
dressed a materialized spirit in Arabic in the following terms: 

" 'If it is really thou, Rosalie, who art in the midst of 
us, pull the hair on the back of my head three times in suc- 
cession.' About ten minutes later, when he had almost com- 
pletely forgotten his request, he felt his hair pulled three 
times in response to this wish. It is hardly necessary to say 
that Eusapia knows no Arabic." 

As is well known, the famous medium Home succeeded in 
causing an accordion to play by itself, and untouched, in 
the presence of Sir William Crookes. M. Flammarion 
wished to see if this same phenomenon could be duplicated 
in Eusapia's presence. He accordingly tried the following 
experiment, which seems to have been completely successful: 

"I therefore take a little new accordion bought that even- 
ing in a bazaar, and, approaching the table, and remaining 
in a standing position, I hold the accordion by one side, rest- 
ing two fingers upon two keys, in such a way to permit the air 
to pass, in case the instrument should begin to play. So 
held, it is vertically suspended by the stretching out of my 
right hand to the height of my head and above the head 
of the medium. We make sure that her hands are all the 
time tightly held, and that the chain is unbroken. After 
a short wait of five or six seconds I feel the accordion drawn 
by its free end, and the bellows is immediately pushed in, 
several times successively, and at the same time the music is 
heard. There is not the least doubt that a hand, a pair 
of pincers, or what not, has hold of the lower end of the 
instrument. ... I perceive very well the existence of this 



72 Eusapia Palladino 

prehensile organ. All possibility of fraud is eliminated 
for the instrument is well above Eusapia's head, her hands 
are firmly held, and I distinctly see the distention of the cur- 
tain as far as the instrument. The accordion continues to 
make itself heard, and is pulled on so strongly that I say 
to the invisible power, 'Well, since you have such a good 
hold on to it, keep it.' I withdrew my hand, and the instru- 
ment remains as if glued to the curtain. It is no longer 
heard. What has become of it ? I propose to light a candle 
and hunt for it, but the general opinion is that since things 
are going so well it is better to make no changes in the en- 
vironment. While we are talking, the accordion begins to 
play — a slight and rather insignificant air. In order to do 
that it must be held by two hands. At the end of fifteen 
or twenty seconds it is brought to the middle of the table, 
playing all the while. The certainty that hands are playing 
is so complete that I say to the unknown, since you have 
got the accordion so well, you can doubtless take my hand 
itself. I reach out my arm at the height of my head, rather 
a little higher. The curtain inflates, and through the cur- 
tain I feel a hand (a pretty strong left hand) — that is to 
say, three fingers and a thumb — and these grasp the end of 
my right hand." 

§ 14. Experiments at Genoa — 1901 

In 1 901 Eusapia went to Genoa, where, at the Minerva 
Club, she gave a series of remarkable seances, which were 
attended by Professors Porro, Morselli, Bozzano, Venzano, 
Lombroso, Vassalo, and others. 

I shall cite extracts from these reports later on in this 
volume. It is of interest to quote in this connection the 
conclusions arrived at by Professor Porro, as a result of 
this series of experiments. Speaking of the sittings, he says : 

"... A formidable blow, like the stroke of the fist of an 
athlete, is struck in the middle of the table. The person 



Eusapia Palladino 73 

seated at the right of the medium feels that he is grasped 
in the side. . . . The blows are redoubled, and are so terri- 
fic that it seems as if they would split the table. We begin 
to perceive hands lifting and inflating the curtains, and ad- 
vancing as far as to touch, first one, then another, of the 
company, caressing them, pressing their hands, daintily pull- 
ing their ears, or clapping hands merrily in the air above 
their heads. . . . 

"A bouquet of flowers, placed in a carafe on the larger 
table, comes over on to ours, preceded by an agreeable perfume. 
Stems of flowers are placed in the mouth of No. 5 ; and No. 
8 is hit by a rubber ball, which rebounds upon the table. 
The carafe comes over to join the flowers on our table; it 
is then immediately lifted and put to the mouth of the me- 
dium, and she is made to drink from it twice ; between 
times it sinks down to the table and stands there for a 
moment right side up. We distinctly hear the swallowing 
of the water, after which Mme. Palladino asks some one to 
wipe her mouth with a handkerchief. Finally, the carafe 
returns to the large table. . . . 

"The guitar took its flight around the room, coming to 
a standstill in the middle of the table, where, finally, it came 
to a rest. In a final, supreme effort, Eusapia turns toward 
the left, where, upon a table, is a typewriting machine weigh- 
ing fifteen pounds. During the effort, the medium falls 
exhausted and nervous upon the floor; but the machine rises 
from its place and betakes itself to the middle of our table, 
near the guitar. 

"In full light, Eusapia calls M. Morselli, and controlled 
by the two persons next her, brings him with her toward the 
table, upon which is placed a mass of molding plaster. She 
takes his open hand and pushes it three times toward the plas- 
ter, as if to sink the hand into it and leave upon it an impres- 
sion. M. Morselli's hand remains at a distance of more than 
four inches from the mass; nevertheless, at the end of the 
seance, the experimenters ascertain that the lump of plaster 
contains the impression of three fingers — deeper prints than it 
is possible to obtain directly by means of voluntary pressure* 



74 Eusapia Palladino 

"The medium lifts her two hands, all the time clasped in 
mine and those of No. 5 (Morselli) and, uttering groans, 
cries, exhortations, she rises with her chair, so far as to place 
its two feet and the ends of its two front cross bars upon 
the top of the table. It was a moment of great anxiety. 
The levitation was accomplished rapidly, but without any 
jarring or jolting or jerking. . . . 

' 'There is more to follow. Eusapia was lifted up still 
farther with her chair, from the upper part of the table, in 
such a way that No. 11, on one side, and I, on the other, 
were able to pass our hands under her feet and under those 
of the chair. . . ." 

These are the conclusions of Professor Porro: 

"The phenomena are real. They cannot be explained 
either by fraud or by hallucination. . . . While admitting 
it as the most probable hypothesis that the intelligent beings 
to whom we owe these psychical phenomena are preexisting, 
independent entities, and that they only derive from us the 
conditions necessary for their manifestation in a physical 
plane accessible to our senses, ought we to admit also that 
they are really the spirits of the dead? 

"To this question I will reply that I do not feel that I am 
as yet capable of giving a decisive answer. 

"Still, I should be inclined to admit it, if I did not see 
the possibility that these phenomena might form part of a 
scheme of things still more vast. In fact, nothing hinders 
us from believing in the existence of forms of life wholly 
different from those which we know, and of which the life 
of human beings before birth and after death forms only a 
special case — just as the organic life of man is a special 
case of animal life in general. ..." 

§ 15. Experiments at Palermo — 1902; at Rome and at 
Paris — 1905 

In July and August, 1902, a series of experiments was 
held at Palermo, under Dr. Carmelo Samona, which are 



Eusapia Palladino 75 

reported in the Annals of Psychical Science, 1903, pp. 72- 
82. (French edition.) Again, in 1905, at Rome and at 
Paris, Eusapia gave a series of seances, in the former city 
to Dr. H. Carreras — which were reviewed in the Revue 
Scientific et morale du spiritisime (1 904-5, pp. 585-91); 
and in Paris, to Count de Grammont — a full report of 
which, so far as I know, has not been published. These 
experiments, while they are doubtless of interest, can be said 
to add little to the evidence for the supernormal in the case 
of Mme. Palladino — inasmuch as the reports do not state 
the amount of control exercised, and in other ways are im- 
perfect — being extremely abbreviated. 

§ 16. Experiments at Genoa — 1906-7 

In 1906-7 Professor Morselli renewed his investigations 
of Eusapia, and the seances conducted by him are among 
the most remarkable and convincing that have ever been held. 
They at all events completely converted Professor Morselli, 
and so impressed him that he decided to publish his volu- 
minous book, which he had held in reserve, even after the 
proofs had been sent in, because of laudable scientific scruples ! 
I give a resume of these seances herewith, as they were 
reported at the time. 

Professor Morselli has noted no less than thirty-nine dis- 
tinct types of phenomena, which he lists as follows : 

1. Oscillations and movements of the table without sig- 
nificance. 

2. Movements and beatings of the table having a sig- 
nificance. 

3. Complete levitation of the table. 

4. Movements of various objects, as soon as touched by 
the hands or body of the medium. 



j6 Eusapia Palladino 

5. Movements, undulations, and swellings of the curtains 
of the cabinet. 

6. Movements and swelling out of the medium's clothes. 

7. Oscillations of the table without contact. 

8. Independent liftings of the table. 

9. Movements occasioned in material objects by the hands 
being voluntarily turned toward them, but at a distance, and 
gestures made from or toward the object. 

10. Spontaneous movements and displacements of dif- 
ferent objects at various distances from the medium. 

11. Bringing of distant objects on to the table. 

12. Displacements of the seats of the experimenters. 

13. Movements of operation of mechanical instruments 
placed at a distance. 

14. Spontaneous changes of weight in a scale. 

15. Change of weight in the body of the medium. 

16. Raising of the medium's body in the air. 

17. Wind from the cabinet. 

18. Intense cold. 

19. Radiations from the head and body of the medium. 

20. Blows, raps, and other sounds in the table. 

21. Blows and raps at a distance from the medium. 

22. Sounds of musical instruments. 

23. Sounds of hands, feet, etc., being moved. 

24. Sounds of human voices. 

25. Mysterious signs left at a distance. 

26. Direct writing. 

27. Impressions in plastic substances. 

28. Apports. 

29. Touching, feeling, grasping, by invisible hands. 

30. Organization of solid forms having the character 
of members of the human body. 



Eusapia Palladino 77 

31. Organization of hands, naked, and distinguishable 
to the touch. 

32. Complicated actions of materialized forms, tangible, 
but invisible. 

33. Appearance of luminous points. 

34. Appearance of whitish clouds or mists. 

35. Formation of dark prolongations of the body of the 
medium. 

36. Forms having the appearance of arms and hands 
coming out of the cabinet. 

37. Appearance of hands. 

38. Appearance of obscure forms, of indeterminate char- 
acter, and not very distinct. 

39. Appearance of forms having determinate and per- 
sonal characters. 

At the seances attended by Professor Morselli, several re- 
markable phenomena occurred. His arm was seized by a 
big hand, of which he felt the fingers distinctly — while he 
was holding the hand of Eusapia next himself. The lamp 
was switched on and off several times — the switch being 
at a distance of several feet from the medium and beyond 
her reach. Professor Morselli was then drawn backward 
in his chair several inches. A chair from within the cabi- 
net came out, and under the conditions of the strictest con- 
trol climbed on the seance table. A metronome was started 
and stopped several times, and finally conveyed on to the 
seance table by invisible hands, where it again began to beat 
time. At the conclusion of the seance, several large objects 
at some distance from Eusapia changed their positions — mov- 
ing several inches along the floor. 

The second seance was far more remarkable, and the re- 
port deserves to be quoted at some length. It reads in part ; 



y§ Eusapia Palladino 

"Second Seance. Eusapia was again carefully examined 
by Professor Morselli. The same persons took the same 
places round the table. The room was lighted by a tiny 
night lamp which, after a minute or two, made it possible 
for the sitters to see sufficiently clearly. . . . Eusapia pressed 
my (M. Barzini's) hand forcibly from time to time; each 
time she did so we heard on the table a thud which seemed 
to be given by a clenched fist. 

"A white hand came out of the cabinet and touched Pro- 
fessor Morselli on the shoulder, while he showed us the left 
hand of the medium under his control and I did the same 
with the right. 

"These mysterious hands which, for very brief moments, 
often appeared, generally issued from the opening between 
the curtains, but sometimes even from their surface; they 
seemed to come through the stuff." 

To the chair of Eusapia two vertical rods had been tied, 
to which a frame of wood (13 cm. by 18 cm.) had been at- 
tached containing two photographic plates, intended, if pos- 
sible, to register radiations from the head of the medium. 
All the knots had been fastened by Professor Morselli, who 
had used blue and white threads easily recognizable. 

"We heard," continues the Editor of the Corriere, "a 
delicate and restrained sound behind the medium; I looked 
and saw the frames slowly moving. We assured ourselves 
that the controls were as they should be. Moreover, Eusa- 
pia's hands were visibly resting on the table with ours. We 
waited with curiosity. There was no doubt that the knots 
were being patiently undone, under our very eyes. In truth, 
after a few minutes, the frame raised itself and disappeared 
into the cabinet. It did not fall, for we should have heard 
the noise. Dr. Morselli remarked: 'It seems to be in some 
one's hands!' 

"He had scarcely finished speaking when the frame re- 
appeared, with an oscillating movement, and placed itself 



Eusapia Palladino 79 

on the head of the medium ; on it was a rod which cheerily 
tapped out the rhythm of a tambourine. We recognized it 
as one of the two rods which were attached to the back of 
the chair. After a little while the frame and the rod fell 
noisily on the ground. 'I had, however, fastened them well!' 
observed Professor Morselli, regretting somewhat that his 
photographic experiment should have failed. . . . 

"All this time, everyone could see the medium motionless 
in her place, under our control, outside of, and almost in- 
different to, the phenomena which were produced behind her, 
and which lasted long enough to exclude the possibility of 
such tricks as are favored by rapidity. 

"At one moment we saw the dynamometer, which was 
almost touching the bottom of the curtain, upon the table, 
move about and disappear behind the curtain. We discussed 
what could have happened to it. At once a hand came out 
of the cabinet on to the head of the medium; it held the 
dynamometer and seemed to show it to us. Then it re- 
tired; after some seconds the dynamometer reappeared on 
the table. Dr. Morselli seized it, and examined the gradua- 
tion to find out whether the instrument had been under any 
pressure. The needle showed a pressure of no kilogram- 
meters — which is, as we know, equivalent to the effort neces- 
sary to raise 100 kilogs. 1 meter from the ground during the 
space of half a second. 

"At another moment Eusapia said to Dr. Morselli, 'At- 
tention!' and a curious phenomenon followed. I must first 
say that, being put on the qui-vive by this announcement, we 
assured ourselves that the control was secure. Between 
science and public opinion, Eusapia looked as though she were 
guarded by two policemen, we had contact with her hands, 
her knees, and her feet. She strongly contracted her fore- 
arms, and Dr. Morselli felt himself touched in several places 
by the moving curtain. He thought he observed behind the 
curtain the presence of a complete human form whose body 
leaned against his, the arms pressing against him; we all 
saw the arms wrapped round by the curtain. 

"I got up suddenly, drawing the medium against me, and 



80 Eusapia Palladino 

I put my head between the opening of the curtains to look 
into the cabinet. The light which penetrated through the 
openings made by the movement of the curtain was suf- 
ficient to light up the interior of the cabinet. It was empty. 
Professor Morselli felt behind the curtain at the spot where 
it was bulged out, and was assured that it was empty. What, 
from the outside, appeared to be a moving human body cov- 
ered by the curtain, was, on the inside, a cavity in the stuff, 
an empty mold. 

"It reminded one of Wells' Invisible Man. I then wished 
to touch the bulging part of the curtain, on the outside, with 
my right hand, which was free, and I encountered the ef- 
fectual resistance of a living head. I distinguished the fore- 
head, I moved the palm of my hand downward on to the 
cheeks and on the nose, and when I touched the lips the mouth 
opened and seized me under the thumb; I distinctly felt 
the strain of a clean bite. At the same moment a hand 
pressed against my chest and pushed me back, the curtains 
swelled out and fell back inert. All this time the medium 
remained in view. She was separated by at least half a yard 
from the Invisible Man." 

[We must point out that the medium's cabinet was formed 
by curtains stretched diagonally in front of an angle of the 
room, where there were neither doors nor windows. In- 
side there was nothing but a chair and a few small objects: 
a mandolin, fairy bells, a trumpet, a block of clay for ob- 
taining casts of human hands. This phenomenon of semi- 
materialization behind a curtain is said to be obtained fre- 
quently in seances with this medium.] 

"The fairy bells arrived on the table, as if they fell from 
the skies, and there, completely isolated, while we watched 
the toy curiously, it played for some seconds. It is in the form 
of a little coffee mill; both hands are required for playing 
this instrument, one to hold it firmly, the other to turn a 
small handle. Immediately afterwards we heard the mando- 
lin sliding along the floor, M. Bozzano saw it come out of 
the cabinet and stop behind Professor Morselli, where it 
made two or three sounds. Afterwards it came on to the 



Eusapia Palladino 81 

table, went all round and finished by laying itself in my arms 
like a baby. In this position it began jingling again in my 
honor, while I observed its complete isolation. From my 
arms it returned to the table and continued to make con- 
fused sounds. When we placed our hands on the cords we 
felt them vibrating; and in this way we had the proof of 
touch as to the reality of this phenomenon." 

In the course of the third seance a very typical case of 
fraud was observed, which may throw some light on the 
trickery and, apparently unconscious, fraud which this me- 
dium resorts to so frequently. While the experimenters 
were forming a chain around the table, at which the medium 
was also seated, with her back turned to the cabinet, Pro- 
fessor Morselli called out the three letters: "E. T. V. !" 
This signified, according to a preconcerted arrangement 
among the investigators: "Eugene Torelli-Viollier," or more 
precisely, "the medium has had recourse to the trick observed 
by M. E. Torelli-Viollier, i.e., has withdrawn one of her 
hands or feet from the control of her two neighbors." Eusa- 
pia had in fact liberated her left hand from that of Professor 
Morselli, and stretched out the freed hand toward a trumpet 
which was on the table, in order to seize it. But she had 
not time to do this, for the Professor, as he pronounced the 
three warning letters, possessed himself again of the fugitive 
hand, and the experimenters increased their vigilance. Eusa- 
pia understood, and said, in a saddened tone: "Don't say 
that!" 

"At this moment," says the reporter, "while the control 
was certainly more rigorous than ever, the trumpet was raised 
from the table and disappeared into the cabinet, passing be- 
tween the medium and Dr. Morselli. Evidently the medium 
had attempted to do with her hand what she subsequently 



82 Eusapia Palladino 

did medf umf stically : such a futile and foolish attempt at 
fraud is inexplicable. There is no doubt about the matter: 
this time the medium did not touch, and could not touch, the 
trumpet; and even if she could have touched it she could 
not have conveyed it into the cabinet, which was behind her 
back. 

"I was placed behind Professor Morselli, quite close to 
the curtain, and I was already watching the medium from 
the side, when, suddenly, the trumpet came out again from 
the cabinet, passing through the opening at the side of the 
curtain, and came toward the Professor and me. I was the 
only one who saw it, but the others heard it, because the ob- 
ject gave two stout blows on Dr. Morselli's shoulders, with 
some degree of violence, perhaps to punish him for his *E. 
T. V.,' and then it retired. 

"I at once put my hand inside the cabinet and asked: 
'Where has it gone?' 

"The trumpet immediately came into my hand. I took 
it and showed it to those present ; then I held it again inside 
the cabinet, saying: 'Take it!' It was taken from me; then 
it returned to the table, passing through the central opening 
in the curtains — and so it went on. All this time the me- 
dium's hands remained motionless, separated from each other, 
between those of her two guardians." 

The room was lighted feebly by the dim light of a night 
lamp. 

The reporter then speaks of certain curious apparitions 
which, from time to time, came out from the curtains. They 
generally took the form of a human head, or rather of two 
clasped hands enveloped in a black veil. Behind this head, 
or these hands, stretched a sort of long neck or arm. Some- 
times these formless and indistinct members touched one of 
the experimenters. At this seance, as at all others, the bulg- 
ing of the curtain was often observed, assuming, more or less 
completely, the outlines of a human form ; this form offered 



Eusapia Palladino 83 

a certain amount of resistance to the touch. At one time 
the medium invited M. Barzini to kneel on the table, and 
this gentleman resigned himself to this uncomfortable and 
somewhat ridiculous position. Stretching his hand up toward 
the cabinet M. Barzini was able almost to touch the top of 
the curtain ; that is to say, he reached to a distance of nearly 
four feet from the medium's head, and about seven feet six 
inches from the floor. At this height his hand was touched 
from behind the curtain, but very slightly, as if by a vapor- 
ous body. As he lowered his hand the touch became firmer ; 
when he held his arm out horizontally he was able to recog- 
nize that the object which touched him was a hand, which 
feebly grasped his own, through the material of the curtain. 
When he lowered his arm still more, toward the head of 
the medium, the pressure became firm and resolute — the mys- 
terious hand acquired force and energy. He raised his arm, 
and the pressure lost consistency, until, when he reached the 
top of the curtain, the experimenter again only felt the uncer- 
tain and vaporous touch which he had felt at first. Details and 
observations of this nature throw more light on the manner 
in which the psychic force exteriorizes itself than many trea- 
tises on mediumship. 

While M. Barzini was communicating his observations 
to those present, the medium said to him: "Don't be fright- 
ened: pay attention!" And the table rose twice, with M. 
Barzini upon it; while at the same time the two persons 
guarding Eusapia felt themselves simultaneously touched by 
hands, the one on the shoulder and the other at the back of 
the head. "Thus a weight of about 160 pounds was being 
moved, while one hand was manifesting w T ell above the me- 
dium's head, and two other hands were touching the experi- 
menters on either side of the medium." 



84 Eusapia Palladino 

The Fourth Seance. M. Barzini observes that on several 
different occasions he was able to grasp the mysterious fugi- 
tive hands which touched him. "The feeling to which this 
gave rise was very curious," he says; "they did not escape 
from my grasp, they dissolved, so to speak. They slipped 
out of my hands as if they had collapsed — they seemed like 
hands that had very rapidly melted and dissolved, after mani- 
festing a high degree of energy, and an absolutely lifelike ap- 
pearance while performing actions. It should be stated that 
these observations have always been so rapid and so rare that 
they did not leave any very clear impressions on my mind. 
It is necessary to be careful with regard to rapid subjective 
impressions and only accept the genuineness of facts repeated- 
ly proved. Proved, that is to say, as far as it is possible to 
prove them." 

The writer in the Corriere della Sera also speaks of the 
way in which he and Dr. Morselli simultaneously gave chase 
to the mysterious hands which were scratching and rapping 
on the table, while the medium's hands and those of the in- 
vestigators were all visible on its surface. The failure of 
these attempts seemed to amuse the table and it laughed — 
if one may be allowed to speak of it as a person — by little 
sharp movements which are familiar ; subsequently it showed 
its satisfaction by two huge levitations of quite a new kind. 
"I might almost call them chronometric levitations," adds 
the reporter. "The table rose in the air to the height of our 
shoulders, completely isolated, and while Dr. Venzano 
counted the seconds aloud, so as to time the duration of the 
phenomenon, the table marked each second as it was counted 
by raising and lowering one of its ends ; and, strange to say, 
it was the end farthest from the medium which thus oscil- 
lated. As we followed the count of seconds we were amazed 



Eusapia Palladino 85 

at its length. But the table evidently felt some pride in its 
performance, as it continued pluckily ; when sixty seconds had 
been counted, the table fell back to the ground ; it had reached 
the record of a minute, not hitherto attained by any aero- 
plane. 1 But it was not yet satisfied ; a moment later it rose 
up again to the same height, and the count began again; 
this time it managed to reach 78 seconds before it fell to the 
ground." 

On a little camp bed, which had been fitted up in the 
cabinet, a lump of prepared modelers' clay, weighing a little 
less than six pounds, had been placed on a board, with its 
surface carefully smoothed. M. Barzini wished to reach 
this, but it was at the back of the bed, so far that he could 
not do so. He raised the curtain at the extreme left of the 
cabinet, and was just extending his hands when the lump 
of clay rose up from the bed and came to meet him, as though 
to save him the trouble. It stopped at the level of the jour- 
nalist's chest, after having brushed against Professor Mor- 
selli's shoulder. It looked as if a plate were being held with 
both hands by a well-trained servant; this object remained 
isolated in the air, in contact with nothing except the corner 
of the curtain, which was slightly folded at this point. The 
object waited politely until M. Barzini took it, which he 
did carefully, without feeling any resistance; just as he took 
it, however, he felt a sudden increase in its weight, as though 
someone had let go of it and left it in his hands. The marks 
of three fingers were found on the lump of clay. 

Unknown to the others Dr. Morselli had brought with 
him a piece of string, about sixteen inches long ; this he laid 
on the table. The string disappeared, then came back, shak- 
ing like the tail of an animal. The Professor examined it 

1 Written in 1 907. 



86 Eusapia Palladino 

and then said, in a tone of disappointment: "But it is as it 
was before ! I wanted to see it knotted." It evidently had not 
understood what was expected of it. It was not lacking in 
good will, however, as it at once proved by disappearing 
again, and returning shortly afterwards neatly knotted in 
three different places. The knots were all alike, well made 
and symmetrical, placed at equal distances from each other. 
The medium entered the cabinet and was fastened carefully 
to the bed, her hands and feet tied ; the investigators remained 
at a distance of about two yards from the curtain; in the 
space thus left vacant stood the table with no one at it; 
nevertheless, it moved, rose and fell, slid over the floor, and 
at last leaned over toward the cabinet, lifting its two legs in 
the air. A sound was heard like that of a pencil writing 
rapidly. As M. Barzini had left several sheets of paper on 
the table it was thought that direct writing would be ob- 
tained. When the sound had ceased the journalist went to 
pick up the sheets; they each in turn lifted one of their 
corners as though to make it easier for him to lay hold of 
them. "They are lifting themselves," said M. Barzini, "as 
if equal, steady breaths of wind, coming from my direction, 
were acting on each of them in an orderly and discreet way. 
The sheets are all blank." 

The Fifth Seance. In the course of this seance the in- 
vestigators decided that the medium should go into the cabi- 
net with a view to obtain materializations if possible, but 
they then remembered that they had forgotten the cords. In 
spite of this they placed the medium on the little bed. But 
she kept on complaining and asking to be tied : she is aware 
that the phenomena are not considered of much value unless 
she is tied. Under these conditions, and after waiting some 



Eusapia Palladino 87 

time, a round form, looking like a pale face surrounded by 
white drapery, appeared twice in the opening of the curtains. 
No sound was heard, although it had been noticed that the 
least movement of anyone on the bed caused loud crackings 
to resound in it ; but this is the only indication there was of 
the genuineness of the phenomena. 

Eusapia came out of the cabinet, took off all her white 
clothing, threw down even her handkerchief, keeping on 
only her skirt and bodice, and returned to her position on the 
camp bed. Twenty minutes later the curtains opened again 
and the face of a woman appeared surrounded with bandages. 
The medium had been completely undressed and searched 
before the seance. 

The Sixth and Last Seance. This time Eusapia was tied 
to the bed in an original manner. The investigators pro- 
vided themselves with a special kind of strong cord used in 
asylums to fasten violent maniacs — a thick, broad, greenish 
band, which can be tied very tightly, without risk of cutting 
the flesh (as would be the case with cord) and can be 
knotted in the most complicated manner. The operation was 
intrusted to Professor Morselli, who, as an alienist, was 
specially qualified for this task. He secured the wrists and 
ankles of the medium in such a way that the hands and feet 
could not slip through the knots, and made them fast to 
iron rings, through which the lateral bars of the bed passed. 

A red electric lamp of ten-candle power was lighted. The 
table, which was standing isolated in the free space, moved 
from time to time. The curtains opened, allowing the in- 
terior of the cabinet to be seen, as well as the head and feet 
of the medium. These phenomena were inexplicable con- 
sidering that the position of the medium rendered movement 



88 Eusapia Palladino 

on her part impossible — but these were the only results pro- 
duced except that many small lights were seen about twenty 
inches above the medium's head ; and at one moment a hand 
was also perceived at the upper part of the curtain, and again 
a little lower down ; this was seen several times. 

Let us turn to the part of the seance during which the me- 
dium remained outside the cabinet. The room was then dim- 
ly lighted by the night lamp. A mandolin, which had been 
placed on the bed, after having sounded several times at a 
distance, came on to the table, where, absolutely isolated, it 
began to play. It was plainly visible before the very eyes 
of the sitters. They felt all round to verify its complete 
isolation. Eusapia was held by her hands, one of which was 
on the edge of the table, the other on her knees. The mando- 
lin went on playing; nothing very melodious, of course, but 
the strings vibrated forcibly and clearly. The investigators 
placed their hands a few inches above the strings, and these 
were felt to vibrate more strongly than ever. Professor 
Morselli seized the handle of the mandolin with his left 
hand, and the instrument still continued sounding, at in- 
tervals, beginning again every time the investigator ex- 
pressed a wish that it should do so. Each sound, however, 
corresponded exactly to movements of the fingers of the me- 
dium, who, at a distance, performed the action of playing, and 
who finally pinched out the last notes on Professor Morselli's 
forehead. It is needless to say that the mandolin does not 
belong to Eusapia, that it was bought by the investigators, 
and that, as M. Barzini says, "it is a modest instrument in- 
capable of fraud." 

M. Barzini took a tiny musical box which had also been 
purchased by the investigators, placed it on the table and said 
to the medium : "Please make it play without touching it." 



Eusapia Palladino 89 

She held out her hands above the instrument, moving her 
ringers. After many useless efforts, two feeble sounds were 
at last heard from the interior of the instrument. 

"Did you hear?" asked Eusapia. 

"No," said the experimenter, "try again." 

She made another attempt. Scarcely half a minute had 
passed when the box again resounded, giving forth five or 
six notes without any motion of the handle. "It was as if 
an invisible hand had entered the box and had touched the 
little metallic tongues with its nail. It was evident that some 
unknown force was working in the interior of the musical 
box, for it was even slightly displaced on the table. Eusapia 
continued her attempts and the phenomenon was repeated 
with greater intensity and obviousness; finally, the musical 
box tilted up and began rolling on its edge, and in this posi- 
tion it made the entire circuit of the table." 

§ 17. Experiments at Turin — 1907 (Lombroso) 

In 1907 Professor Lombroso, aided by his two assistants, 
Dr. Imoda and Dr. Audenino, held a series of seances in 
Turin. These seances were held in the clinical chamber of 
psychiatry in the University, and were attended by a num- 
ber of eminent men. The unanimous opinion was that 
"even the cleverest trickery could not begin to explain the 
majority of the phenomena observed." The account of the 
seances first appeared in La Stampa, a well-known Italian 
paper, and was reprinted, in part, in The Annals of Psychi- 
cal Science. The account proceeds: 

"Two doctors took control, one on either side of the me- 
dium. An electric lamp, of ten-candle power,, hung from the 
ceiling, and clearly lit up the room. 



90 Eusapia Palladino 

The medium asked one of the persons who formed the 
chain to rap on the table with the palm of the hand in some 
sort of rhythm. The experimenter rapped three times and 
leaned his hand lightly on the table at the spot where he had 
rapped. At the same spot, an instant later, exactly the same 
rhythm was heard repeated, like an echo. The red light was 
now turned on and the white light turned off. 

A footstool of common wood, which was inside the me- 
dium's cabinet, shook and fell ; the curtain also shook ; be- 
hind it a hand grasped repeatedly the extended hands of those 
present; shook them, and caressed them. Suddenly, to the 
surprise of all, a little closed hand, the arm covered with 
a dark sleeve, showed itself in the full light, quite visibly; 
it was pink, plump, and fresh. " Surprise did not prevent 
our at once giving attention to the control of the medium; 
her hands were firmly inclosed in those of the two watch- 
ful doctors." A few minutes later a cold wind came from 
behind the curtain, which suddenly opened as if it had been 
opened by two hands, a human head came out, with a pale, 
haggard face, of sinister evil aspect. It lingered a moment 
and then disappeared. 

The wooden stool rose up in the air and seemed to want 
to leave the cabinet, pushing aside the curtains. It was 
liberated from the curtains, then it continued to ascend in 
an inclined position toward the circle. Several hands 
stretched out following the curious phenomenon and lightly 
touched the object. 

The woman's small hand then reappeared near the cur- 
tain, seized one of the feet of the footstool, and pushed it. 
Signor Mucchi broke the chain and, by a rapid action, seized 
the warm hand, which at once seemed to dissolve and dis- 
appeared. Immediately observations were made to ascer- 
tain if the medium's two hands were well controlled; such 
was found to be the case. The footstool kept on rising, and 
passed over the heads of the sitters, but at this moment the 
medium seemed in distress, and cried out: "It will kill us! 
Catch it!" The hands that were following the movements 
of the small piece of furniture then seized hold of it to with- 



Eusapia Palladino 91 

draw it from this perilous position, but an invisible force 
withdrew it to the center of the table, where it finally re- 
mained at repose. 

At the close of the seance, the reporter placed his hand on 
the deep scar which the medium has on the left side of her 
head and felt a cold, strong, continuous breeze issuing from 
it, like a human breath. He subsequently felt the same cold 
breeze issuing, though less strongly, from the tips of her 
fingers. 

Second Seance. In order to eliminate all doubt as to 
whether some of the sitters might have produced, or helped 
to produce, the phenomena, it was decided to connect every- 
one by forming a double chain : the first six being round the 
table, the other eight, behind, joining hands in a second row 
connected at each end with the inner chain. Even- move- 
ment was thus under the observation of the next sitter. Two 
small tables were placed in the cabinet, on which were placed 
a toy piano, an otoscope for scientific experiments, a tam- 
bourine, a hand bell, a trumpet, and a few other small ob- 
jects. 

"The trance began this time with the familiar explosive 
sound ; in sight of everyone, the medium's hands and feet 
being securely held by the two controllers, we saw the center 
of the table vibrating under a heavy blow comparable to 
that which might be produced by the toe of a heavy boot, 
on the top of the table. This phenomenon was repeated 
several times during the seance; in order to make it more 
evidential the medium asked one of the sitters to lay hold 
of one of her feet under the table and to observe its move- 
ments: she then raised the foot slightly and the blow was 
produced on the top of the table. The other foot was also 
controlled ; moreover, Eusapia only wears woolen slippers 
during the seance. 

There was another instance of synchronous raps: the me- 



92 Eusapia Palladino 

dium raised her hand with that of the controller on the left, 
and made the action of striking the air; at once, with abso- 
lute synchronism, blows resounded on the tables inside the 
medium's cabinet. The medium moved her fingers on the 
hand of her controller as if playing the tambourine, and 
the experimenters heard corresponding sounds on the tam- 
bourine in the cabinet. 

Some one having expressed a desire to hear the sound of 
the toy piano, an inexplicable preparatory work was heard 
going on in the cabinet ; furniture was heard being moved 
about, the clink of glasses and other objects, and finally it 
was observed that the table bearing the little piano was 
moving toward the medium, as if issuing from the cabinet; 
the object of this movement was probably to draw the piano, 
which was quite at the back of the cabinet, within the radius 
of the mediumistic activity. 

At a certain moment the curtain shook forcibly, one of 
its extremities being pushed as far as the center of the table 
and a white box, locked and sealed, containing a sheet of 
smoked paper, came out. This object paused for some seconds 
on the arm of the controller on the right, then, as if it had 
been seized by a real but invisible hand, it was lifted toward 
the center of the table, shaking as if to draw attention to it, 
and thrown down on the table, eliciting from everyone an 
exclamation of surprise and admiration. "The phenome- 
non," says the reporter, "was indeed complete, clearly visible 
in all its phases, distinct, incontestible, and convincing." 

Attention was called to the control of the medium by 
five raps, and the little piano which had been repeatedly 
heard in movement was at last played upon as if with a finger 
feeling for the notes, not striking them at hazard but with 
a vague musical intention. The rhythm was not very pre- 
cise, but neither was it the mere noise that a child might 
make on a piano ; there was in fact a clearly expressed musi- 
cal intention. 

A little later a toy sheep, made to bleat when squeezed, 
which was in the cabinet, first appeared on the medium's 



Eusapia Palladino 93 

head, where it rested for sometime, and was then thrown 
among the sitters, by some invisible hand. 

A desire being expressed to hear the piano again, a few 
notes sounded. One of the experimenters expressed a doubt 
whether these came from the otoscope ; this instrument was 
then in its turn thrown on the table, and it was evident 
that the sounds came from the piano. 

The medium begged M. Bocca to kneel on the table, and, 
having done so, he felt, behind the curtain, a hand, which 
grasped his own at a height to which the medium could not 
reach; a phenomenon which, as we have already reported, 
occurred at Genoa with M. Barzini. 

Then lights appeared; they started from the medium's 
head, and were projected like a minute Roman candle. 

Third Seance. On this occasion some important addi- 
tions were introduced into the medium's cabinet : a red elec- 
tric lamp, with a reflector, was hung on the interior wall 
at the back of the cabinet at the height of about six feet 
from the floor, and this lighted up the interior very well: 
the object of this was to make it possible to follow the de- 
velopment of the phenomena at the spot where they are the 
most frequently forthcoming. 

A "tambourine Marey," with its curious structure of 
cylinders and needles, was spread out on a table placed near 
the cabinet ; an india-rubber tube connected it with a Marey 
cardiograph in the interior of the cabinet; another tube led 
to a Morse apparatus placed on the experimental table. The 
desire was to register simultaneously, on the smoked paper 
of the tambourine, the pressure of the medium's finger on 
the Morse apparatus outside, and that exerted by the "entity" 
on the button of the cardiograph inside the cabinet, and to 
verify the synchronism of the two phenomena. A round 
table on four legs, weighing twenty-four pounds, occupied 
the left angle of the cabinet and supported a lump of mold- 
ing clay weighing sixty pounds and covered by a damp cloth. 

When the medium had fallen into a trance, the move- 
ment of the heavy table bearing the clay was heard inside 



94 Eusapia Palladino 

the cabinet. The curiosity of the sitters was at once con- 
centrated on this spot. Would they be able to see the im- 
pression of a face or hand forming? The reply to this ques- 
tion came immediately, and it was of a rather unexpected 
and disrespectful character. A lump of wet clay was thrown 
out of the cabinet and lodged on the thumb of the individ- 
ual who had put the question. The medium began making 
little movements and contractions, and simultaneously the 
table moved noisily a few inches toward the curtain. This 
lasted about a quarter of an hour, after which the clay was 
found behind the medium's back on her right, at a distance 
of about thirty inches. The table rapped five times to 
ask for less light; the interior lamp, which was not neces- 
sary for verification, was then put out, but the possibility of 
seeing the phenomena in process of formation was thus re- 
linquished. Great raps were heard on the table; and the 
table on which the clay was placed rapped out with its feet: 
' 'The impression is made." 

"I was asked," writes Dr. Mucchi, "to take the mold: 
I was about to enter the cabinet, but was repelled by two 
hands 'made of nothing.' I felt them; they were agile and 
prompt, they seized me and pushed me back — the struggle 
lasted for sometime; the hands seemed to take pleasure in 
resisting me; they pushed me back if I tried to enter and 
pulled me forward if I retired. I ended by seizing the lump 
of clay which these satanic hands persisted in claiming for 
themselves; when I withdrew they thrust me out with a 
violent shove which nearly upset everything. There were ob- 
servable on the clay two or three impressions such as might be 
made by a closed fist." 

One of the sitters was asked to take a mandolin, which 
was in the room, and to place it on the table from which the 
clay had been taken. This gentleman also found himself 



Eusapia Palladino 95 

resisted by the mysterious hands, who alternately would, and 
would not, let him enter; when he had once got hold of it 
he was afraid lest it should escape him and placed it quickly 
on the table inside, with the strings turned downward. The 
mandolin was soon raised from there in some inexplicable 
way and carried on to the experimental table, where, in 
view of everyone, it played all by itself \ first one string at 
a time, giving forth a clear sound as if it were being played 
with a finger nail; then with all the strings, as if a finger 
were being passed across them. One of us was asked to play 
on the medium's fingers as if they were a mandolin ; a string 
sounded in correspondence with each touch, and if the touch 
was vague the sound was incomplete or strident. Afterwards, 
a hand, which suddenly materialized, seized the instrument 
by the handle and placed it on the shoulder of the player, 
and there, under his very nose, the strings shook and twanged, 
while the hand dissolved and disappeared. 

The mandolin returned to the table, and the medium made 
it advance and retire as if she had a thread in her hands; 
the strings creaked as if rubbed by this invisible contact, 

"All this time," says the reporter, "the control was very 
rigorous. At my right, one of the circle, who was standing 
up, was very attentive to all that was happening, when sud- 
denly his hand was seized by the index finger and drawn up- 
ward ; he did not resist, but had no cause to rejoice, for he 
felt his middle finger seized by the teeth of a mouth from 
behind the curtain. 

"He wished to know who the invisible entity was, and the 
unknown hand drew his up to the level of a face to make 
him touch it. I asked this investigator if he could recognize 
whether it was a man or a woman, and his hand was drawn 
to trace the lines of a profile which was moving behind the 
curtain. The same hand struck him several times on the 



96 Eusapia Palladino 

shoulder, and we heard the sharp, characteristic sound of the 
blow. . . . 

"The medium then asked that a venerable old man whom 
she had known for years, and who had already experimented 
with her for sometime, might sit beside her. He leaned 
toward the curtain and we heard the sound of kisses. The 
light at this moment came from a red electric lamp placed 
outside, a little behind and to the left of the medium's cabi- 
net; thus the wall on the left of the room was well lit up 
and afforded a light background against which the profiles 
of the medium and the old man were clearly visible. 

"The medium rested her head against the shoulder of 
the controller on the right ; her hands were held in his ; sud- 
denly the curtain shook violently, a cold wind passed out, 
then a human form covered by the thin material of the cur- 
tain was visible against this light background. The head 
of a woman, unstable and staggering, approached the face 
of the old man ; she moved tremblingly like an old woman ; 
she seemed to lean forward and touch the old gentleman, 
perhaps she kissed him; the old man encouraged her; she 
withdrew, returned, seemed as if she were afraid to venture, 
then advanced resolutely. It was a moment of uncontrollable 
emotion. Skeptic though I am, adverse to all mysticism, I 
was conscious of the intense feeling of this silent scene. . . ." 

Fourth and last Seance. The room and the cabinet were 
emptied as much as possible of all little objects — the mando- 
lin, the trumpet, etc., which might distract the attention of 
the mysterious beings. It was earnestly desired to concen- 
trate the force upon the narrow circle of the scientific ap- 
paratus which had been prepared. 

First a photograph was taken by magnesium light of the 
complete levitation of the table. The photograph was a 
complete success, the table being very high up. The con- 
trol conditions were perfect, but the controllers observed 
that a contraction of the muscles of the thighs and rigidity 



Eusapia Palladino 97 

of the whole muscular system corresponded with each levi- 
tation. 

"A hand issued from the curtain near my head," writes 
M. Mucchi; "it first showed with closed fist, then the hand 
opened and the fingers stretched out. This phenomenon was 
repeated several times; everyone could take note of it, be- 
cause the hand stood out against the illuminated wall. The 
same hand subsequently laid hold of the wood of the cabinet 
and shook it violently; I tried in my turn and I found that 
to do this required considerable effort. While I was doing 
so the invisible hand seized mine, pressed it and let go, giving 
me a friendly pat on the shoulder. 

"I left my place as controller, being replaced by Engineer 
Pomba. While a few ordinary phenomena were occurring 
I observed the dynamometer, and I placed the needle at zero. 
My maneuver was, however, perceived by the medium's sub- 
liminal consciousness, and she asked that that object might 
be laid on the table. 

" 'What object?' asked the controller on the right. 

"I was even uncertain whether she meant me, because I 
was at a spot where she absolutely could not see me. But 
the medium insisted, and finally indicated me by a move- 
ment of her head. I hastened to satisfy her. It really 
seems that the medium has the faculty of using her senses 
at a distance. 

"Then the medium desired me to keep the instrument in 
my hands, high enough for everyone to see it. I did so. The 
curtain swelled out and advanced to my hand; the invisible 
behind the curtain seized my fingers, which held the dyna- 
mometer, and I felt a rapid and not very strong pressure. 
Holding it to the light I perceived that the pressure was only 
that of 2 kilog. (4 lbs.) ; we were far from the no kilog. 
registered in the Genoa seances ! I showed my surprise and 
disappointment, and the medium, whose amour pro pre was 
stung, wished to try again. The phenomenon was repeated 
in the same manner. The hand seized mine, holding the 
four fingers on the side of the oval piece of steel on which 



98 Eusapia Palladino 

my thumb was resting, and the thumb on the side on which 
my four fingers were pressing. The pressure of the mys- 
terious hand was thus exerted partly on my fingers and partly 
on the instrument. The constraint was felt longer and 
stronger, but not with much more effect than the first time. 

"On the other hand, a sudden and curious variation oc- 
curred: I was following attentively a little operation of the 
invisible, who was trying to displace the needle of the dy- 
namometer in order to raise the coefficient of the pressure. 
The first finger of the mysterious hand liberated itself, felt 
for the needle, and instead of pushing the indicator, touched 
the needle connected with the levers and fixed to the steel 
spring in such a manner that when it was let go it caused 
the clear sound of metallic vibrations; then it glided to the 
other needle, displacing it perhaps a few degrees, so that the 
dynamometer registered 20 kilog. (44 lbs.). Evidently 'John 
King' was attempting a trick. 

"I now understand how it came about that the pressure 
was raised in the Genoa experiment, to no kilog. (242 lbs.), 
a result so much in excess of that which would be obtained 
with a strong man, and I also understand the variability 
of the pressure already observed in many other instances. It 
is not only 'John's' force, but also his trickery which moves 
the needles of the dynamometer to such an incredible extent. 

"Dr. Norlenghi requested that a tiny round table which 
he had brought with him might be placed on the table. I 
took it by one of its feet, and I was in the act of holding it 
out toward the curtains ; I had not reached to the middle of 
the circle of investigators when it was torn out of my hands 
and raised, turned over and upside down, and shaken about 
for nearly a quarter of a minute. Dr. Norlenghi insisted on 
verifying the control, and as he was advancing his head to- 
ward the medium's hands to satisfy himself de visu that they 
were securely held, he inquired whether the control was 
complete. This seemed to annoy the unknown entity, whose 
hands rapidly lowered the little table on to the surface of 
the large table with a bang. The little piece of furniture 
then rose up again, was violently seized, knocked about, and 




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Eusapia Palladino 99 

smashed in pieces. Two feet were thrown down among 
the investigators, the third hit Dr. Norlenghi in the face, 
without hurting him, however. 

"Then the unknown entity seized one of the feet of the 
little table and rapped with it repeatedly now on one, then 
on another of the hands of the sitters, while the big table 
shook, and laughed in its own fashion. 

"Meanwhile the curtain blew out; the table rapped three 
times to signify 'Attention!' and Engineer Pomba was 
honored by a visit from the unknown as in the preceding 
seance, the head surrounded by the curtain approached him 
and kissed him while two hands, which we could not see, 
held his head with an affectionate gesture. This was repeated 
more than once. We all got on to the right side of the table 
to be able to see the materialization, which was clearly out- 
lined against the light background of the wall, so as to ob- 
serve all its movements. 

"I observed that the dimensions of this human form va- 
ried, that its volume increased and diminished visibly, so 
that sometimes it appeared to be that of an adult, sometimes 
that of a child. It was evidently subject to the variations 
of the emission of the mediumistic force. When the effort 
was more intense, the materialization was more complete; 
the medium seemed more fatigued when the head was more 
largely developed. 

"It is difficult to state precisely the nature of this head; 
it seemed to me — and long practice in the use of my eyes 
justifies my believing that I was not deceived — like those of 
the last seance. The most striking characteristics were the 
same; the jests, the way of coming out and approaching M. 
Pomba were the same, the only difference, in my opinion, 
consisted in this, that in the course of the last seance the head 
represented the aged mother of one of the sitters, and this 
evening it represented the father of another. 

"Dr. Audenino thought sadly of his Marey apparatus, 
which for three evenings had not been used, and looked to 
see if the smoked paper had not been touched, when sud- 
denly a slight sound indicated that the needle of the appa- 



ioo Eusapia Palladino 

ratus was moving. Dr. Audenino at once put the tam- 
bourine in action, and our ears perceived for a few seconds 
the scratching of a pen, which made long jumps on the 
smoked surface of the tambourine in such a manner as to 
correspond to the pressure exerted inside on the cardiograph, 
tracing a curious and variable diagram. The cabinet was 
quite empty and the medium's hands were, as always, in the 
hands of the controllers. Moreover, the distance between the 
cardiograph and the medium's chair was such that, even 
had she wished to, she could not have succeeded in pressing 
it with her hands. 

"This phenomenon finally eliminates all suspicion. We 
have no longer merely the testimony of our senses, but that 
of a metal instrument which has registered, as we have, an 
unknown force; a well-known scientific apparatus has been 
moved by an invisible force, and has had imprinted upon it 
the tangible and mathematical proof of the reality of these 
phenomena. 

"The medium got up, the table going with her and with 
the investigators into the middle of the room, where it rose 
to a considerable height and fell on the ground upside down. 
The medium, standing up, moved it first on one side, then 
on the other, but she seemed already very tired, and was al- 
most supported by the two controllers. She then turned to 
an armchair and let herself sink into it exhausted. The 
table was raised by the sitters, but the medium wished it to 
go down again, and with a gesture of her head she sent it 
rolling again on the ground. Then she threw herself back 
in the armchair, hid her head in her arms, and seemed to 
fall asleep. Our series of sittings was thus concluded." 



§ 1 8. Experiments at Turin — 1907 (Foa, etc.) 

Soon after the experiments performed by Professor Mor- 
selli and Professor Lombroso, another series of seances was 
held in Turin by Drs. Herlitzka, Charles Foa, and Aggaz- 
zotti — assistants of Professor Mosso. At the second and more 



Eusapia Palladino 101 

remarkable seance Professor Pio Foa, of the same Univer- 
sity, Professor of Pathological Anatomy, Director of the 
Anatomical Museum, and General Secretary of the Academy 
of Sciences, was also present. 

Speaking of the seances, these gentlemen state: 

"We all, who had never before been present at medium- 
istic phenomena, found that even the most incredible phe- 
nomena produce no emotion, and the most extraordinary 
things soon appear as quite common and natural manifesta- 
tions. In the days that followed the first seance, however, 
all seemed to us an impossibility, and but for our reciprocal 
testimony, and without the objective, irrefutable documents 
which remained, we should almost have doubted our senses 
and our intelligence." 

The seances took place in the house of Count Verdun. The 
doors and windows of the seance room were securely fastened, 
and the room examined. The two controllers were, at first, 
Dr. C. Foa and Dr. Herlitzka. Throughout the seance, 
we are told, incessant and reciprocal control was exercised 
by all those present. 

Eusapia commenced the seance by having a fit of hysterics. 
Upon recovering, she no longer spoke in the first person, 
but in the third, speaking as if she were John King. Dr. C. 
Foa immediately afterwards saw a dark, ill-defined profile, 
which disappeared almost instantaneously, but reappeared 
again at his request. Attempts by Dr. Foa to seize this head 
failed. The table in the cabinet was heard to move about, 
and immediately afterwards came right out into the seance 
room, no one touching it. Many objects then began to 
arrive one by one, and were deposited on the seance table. 
A mandolin, a sheet of paper, a little woolen sheep, were 
thus carried. Then the curtain came out, and a hand, ob- 



102 Eusapia Palladino 

viously not the medium's, pulled the hair of Dr. Foa. At 
the same moment the strings of the mandolin were picked. 
The toy piano issued from under the table, the keys were 
depressed in turn, and various notes sounded. Soon after 
this, the lights were turned up and an examination made, 
but no cause for these manifestations was discovered. In full 
light, strong movements of the table were heard — synchroniz- 
ing with movements of the medium's hand. The investiga- 
tors endeavored to obtain graphic records — the keys and 
other parts of the instruments capable of being manipulated 
being covered with a cardboard box, and fastened down with 
sealed ribbons. These attempts, however, resulted in com- 
plete failure — since, although the keys of the instruments 
were manipulated, it was found that the cardboard box, 
containing the key, had been unfastened, that a glass tube had 
been broken, and that one of the ribbons which fastened the 
box was missing. 

Numerous other phenomena of interest occurred, how- 
ever, during this seance, notably touches by invisible hands. 
Eusapia was asked if the key of the apparatus might be 
pressed down. She replied: "The key is uncovered, and as 
I do this I can also press the key down." When she said 
the word this, Dr. Herlitzka felt a finger press strongly on 
his shoulder. Eusapia's hands were at this moment firmly 
held by her two neighbors. The seance ended with several 
levitations. The small table upon which the toys had been 
placed was pushed completely outside the cabinet. 

The second seance, which took place in the same room, 
and virtually under the same conditions as the first, was 
far more remarkable. Two complete levitations in full light 
opened the proceedings, which were immediately followed 



Eusapia Palladino 103 

by the small table in the cabinet advancing into the room, 
pushing the curtain in front of it. Eusapia moved her hands 
in the air over the small table, which moved about upon 
the floor, corresponding in its movements to those made by 
her hands. It ended by rising completely into the air. Dr. 
Aggazzotti repeatedly pushed the table back but every time 
it returned to its place. The curtain then swelled out, in 
response to movements of the medium's hands, and remained 
out during the rest of the sitting. This enabled Dr. Herlitz- 
ka to see into the cabinet during the rest of the seance, and 
observe carefully everything that went on in it. 

In this seance, also, the fabrics and other materials that 
had been used to cover the apparatus in the cabinet were torn 
away by invisible fingers and, both Eusapia's hands being 
visible, the experimenters could hear the cloth being torn, 
inside the cabinet. The experiments in registration, there- 
fore, were not conducted under test conditions, but numer- 
ous other phenomena occurred at this sitting which were 
even more interesting than these. Thus we read: 

"In consequence of a desire expressed by the medium, Dr. 
Herlitzka took control instead of Dr. Arullani, who took 
his seat on the left, near the cabinet, where he immediately 
felt a blow as with a fist, while his feet were trodden upon, 
and a finger nail was stuck into his hand. 

Some of the sitters observed a sort of white mist round 
the medium's head. A few seconds later, inside the cabinet, 
was heard the sound, several times repeated, which told us 
that the membrane of our apparatus was being rapped upon. 
At each of these raps there was corresponding pressure of 
the right hand of the medium on that of the "controller" 
on that side. The apparatus was on the right of the medium 
at a distance of a foot or two from the controller and per- 
fectly visible. No one was at that time in the cabinet, as 
it was easy to certify. 



104 Eusapia Palladino 

A little drum which was on table No. I floated in the 
air above the medium's head, and subsequently returned to 
its place. Immediately afterwards a mandolin made some 
sounds on table No. I, rose up above it and fell on the 
ground. Also from the toy piano, which was on the floor, 
some notes were heard to sound and the medium stated 
that the effort to produce these latter sounds was made 
through her feet. And, in fact, the controllers, who had 
Eusapia's feet on theirs, observed that each sound corre- 
sponded with a contraction of the muscles of her leg. The 
medium rested a leg horizontally on the knee of Dr. Ag- 
gazzotti, who held the foot of the medium in his hand and 
asked her to repeat the experiment without moving her foot ; 
a slighter but synchronous movement of the foot corre- 
sponded with each sound. 

Soon after this, the piano, of its own accord, came on to 
the seance table, passing over the head of Professor Foa 
in so doing. Dr. Aggazzotti's eyeglasses were taken and 
flung violently on to the floor. He stated his anxiety lest 
the lenses should be broken. This the medium emphatically 
denied. The eyeglasses were later discovered on the floor 
uninjured." 

John King seemed to possess a certain antipathy to Dr. 
Arullani. Thus we read : 

"Dr. Arullani wished to approach the curtain on the me- 
dium's left; but the table, advancing toward him, pushed 
him back, as if with anger. The medium then asked the 
doctor to put his ringers over her eyes; he did so, but two 
hands were placed on his chest and violently repulsed him, 
the hands of the medium being at the same time held below 
by the two controllers. Arullani tried to approach again, 
but the medium cried out, "Do not approach," and the doc- 
tor felt himself hit on the head. 

We relate all these details because they show that the 
medium is perfectly conscious of the phenomena which are 
forthcoming, although when the somnambulistic state is over 
she does not remember what has happened. 



Eusapia Palladino 105 

A luminous interlude ensued : above Eusapia's head, at 
a height of about eighteen inches, all the sitters saw a bright 
light appear, similar to that of a small electric pocket lamp. 
One of us (Dr. Foa) went out of the circle and held a pho- 
tographic plate above the medium's head to find out whether 
it was possible to register the radiations. A few moments 
later, the bright light, well localized, reappeared ; imme- 
diately afterwards the toy piano, which was on the table all 
the time with the keyboard turned away from the medium, 
made a few sounds; the sitters observed the spontaneous 
depression of the keys which accompanied the sounds. 

Still with the object of obtaining a record of possible 
radiations, one of us (Dr. Foa) held the photographic plate, 
wrapped in paper, over Eusapia's head, and he felt the plate 
seized by a hand covered with the curtain ; he passed one 
hand behind the curtain, but found nothing there. 

The hand (for reasons that will appear later we apply 
this term to the force that acted on the plate, although no 
form of a hand was visible) made an effort to seize the plate, 
by snatching it unexpectedly, and renewed this attempt re- 
peatedly but without success. Dr. Foa seized the hand, 
which was covered with the curtain, and had the impression 
of pressing real fingers, the fingers escaped him, however, 
and gave him a blow; the plate was changed, and the in- 
visible hand began another struggle, during which it had 
tight hold of the plate for several seconds. At last a sud- 
den blow given to the plate caused it to fall on the seance 
table without breaking. Dr. Aggazzotti, who held another 
plate over the medium's head, had, in his turn, to struggle 
in order to prevent its escaping him — a struggle in the course 
of which his hand was even bitten. 

At this juncture the medium told Professor Pio Foa not 
to be alarmed whatever might happen, and advised all pres- 
ent not to touch the objects which would be suspended in 
the air, otherwise she would be unable to restrain the move- 
ments and might hurt somebody. 

Table No. 1 rose in the air many inches high and passed 
once over the head of Professor Foa; returning to the 



io6 Eusapia Palladino 

ground, and keeping, all the time, outside the cabinet, it 
turned over and then stood up again. 

Needless to say that the controllers were always vigilant 
and saw that the hands and feet of the medium were held in 
our hands and under our feet. Often during the occurrence 
of the most important phenomena, Eusapia's legs were placed 
horizontally on our knees. 

After table No. I had stood upright, Dr. Arullani ap- 
proached it, but the piece of furniture, moving violently 
toward him, repulsed him; Dr. Arullani seized the table, 
which was heard to crack in the struggle: it was a strong 
table of white wood about 2 feet 9 inches high and 3 feet 
long by 22 inches broad, weighing 17 pounds. 

Dr. Arullani asked that the hand behind the curtain 
should grasp his ; the medium replied in her own voice : 
"First I am going to break the table, then I will give you a 
grasp of the hand." This declaration was followed by three 
fresh complete levitations of the table, which fell back each 
time heavily on to the floor. All those who were on the left 
of the medium could observe, by a very good red light, the 
various movements of the table. The latter bent down and 
passed behind the curtain followed by one of us (Dr. C. 
Foa), who saw it turn over and rest on one of its two short 
sides, while one of the legs of the table came off violently, 
as if under the action of some force pressing upon it. At 
this moment the table came violently out of the cabinet and 
continued to break up under the eyes of everyone present; 
at first its different parts were torn off, then the boards them- 
selves went to pieces. Two legs which still remained united 
by a thin slip of wood floated above us and placed them- 
selves on the seance table. 

The medium said: "Unhappy owners of the house!" As 
the medium had thus kept her promise to break the table, 
Dr. Arullani asked for the hand shake, and was invited by 
the medium to approach the curtain. He had hardly reached 
it when he found himself hit by pieces of wood and hands, 
and we all heard the noise of the blows. 

One of us, who was in control, felt himself tickled under 



Eusapia Palladino 107 

the arm, but could not see any hand, although the subjec- 
tive impression was that of four fingers which moved rapidly 
under the armpit. 

During the whole seance the condition of the medium and 
her power were being discussed. Dr. Arullani maintained 
that this force was only manifested at a few inches' distance. 
The medium then told him to stand on the seance table. Dr. 
Arullani confined himself to kneeling on it, and was struck 
on the head by a piece of wood ; then two feet of the table 
were raised three times; the third time more violently, and 
the doctor was sent rolling over on to the ground. 

The seance approached its close; the medium seemed very 
tired ; she leaned her head on the shoulder of one of the 
controllers. A very interesting experience was yet in store 
for us. The medium, as well as all the sitters, who formed 
a chain, rose up. The table moved toward the center of the 
room and afterwards rose completely in the air. After a 
brief pause, during which one of us mentioned the fact that 
a photographic plate was fixed under the seance table, and 
while everyone was standing up at some distance from the 
table, which was free and quite visible on all sides, the me- 
dium asked for Dr. Aggazzotti's hand, and immediately 
afterwards the photographic plate was seen to fall with vio- 
lence on to the seance table. Dr. C. Foa and Dr. Aggaz- 
zotti saw it distinctly come out from under the table, move 
round the edge and pass on to the upper surface. 

It was 1 a.m., and the medium was asked whether the 
seance should be closed, but she did not reply; she was seen 
to be very fatigued, and we broke off the seance without fur- 
ther demur; the medium was placed in an armchair 
and carried into a small adjoining sitting room." 

At the conclusion of the seance, the "field of battle" was 
visited, and the various objects were found out of place, the 
table broken, etc. — showing that real forces had been at 
work, and that the investigators had not been the subjects 
of any hallucination. One incident of extreme interest is 



io8 Eusapia Palladino 

to be noted in this connection: When the photographic 
plates were examined, two gave uncertain results, but 
the third, which had been seized for some seconds by the 
invisible hand, showed distinctly the dark, negative image 
of four big fingers, the position and form of which corre- 
sponded with the index, the middle finger, the third, and 
the little finger. The impression of the thumb seems to be 
indicated also but not so clearly. 

Summing up the results of their experiments, the in- 
vestigators concluded that, whatever might be thought of 
the seances as a whole, or of the various minor phenomena, 
at least four of these were to be retained as proof positive 
that fraud could not account for the results obtained. These 
four were : ( I ) The marks on the apparatus ( the revolving 
cylinder) ; (2) the table broken to pieces before their eyes; 
(3) the photographic plate nailed under the table, passed 
on to it by invisible hands; (4) the impression of the hand 
on the photographic plate enveloped in black paper. As to 
this latter phenomenon, the committee could only suggest 
that some sort of radio-activity issued from the medium's 
fingers when in trance — penetrating the opaque paper, and 
impressing the sensitive plate. 

The investigators favored the hypothesis that the phe- 
nomena were produced by some force issuing from the body 
of the medium, and pointed out that, in our present state of 
knowledge, the denial of such force is absurd. The phe- 
nomena of heredity, they say, are equally unknown to us, 
and that "it is very probable that when the determinism of 
mediumistic phenomena have been completely established, 
that of the phenomena of heredity will still remain enveloped 
in the veil of mystery." 



Eusapia Palladino 109 

§ 19. Experiments at Naples — 1907 

In the September and October, 1907, issues of The Annals 
of Psychical Science, Professor Bottazzi records a number of 
seances which he, together with Professor Galeotti, Dr. 
DeAmicis, Dr. Oscar Scarpa, Dr. Luigi Lombardi, and Dr. 
Sergio Pansini conducted in their own laboratories in the 
University of Naples. The cabinet consisted of two cur- 
tains hung across a doorway. This door led into another 
laboratory in the University, and both rooms were invariably 
locked securely before the commencement of any seance. A 
series of electric lamps of various intensities, red and white, 
were affixed to the movable supports, and above the door — 
allowing various degrees of illumination of the seance room. 
They were controlled by a switch within reach of the sitters. 

The object of the experimenters was to obtain graphic 
records of the phenomena — that is to say, records obtained 
by means of mechanical instruments. The reality of the 
phenomena, therefore, did not depend upon the observation 
of the sitters. The medium was prevented from tampering 
with these instruments during the seance in the following 
manner. The seance cabinet was constructed in front of a 
door leading into another laboratory. In this other labora- 
tory, and behind the closed door, were placed the recording 
instruments on various tables, and they were connected with 
the keys, etc., inside the cabinet, by means of electric wires. 
Thus, if a key had to be pressed in order to affect one of the 
instruments on the other side of the partition door, this 
could only be done by pressing the proper key, and the in- 
strument itself could not be tampered with. The medium, 
we are assured, never placed her hand inside the cabinet, and 
she was, throughout the whole course of the sittings, care- 



no Eusapia Palladino 

fully watched and controlled by two members of the investi- 
gating committee, one on either side of her. 

At the first seance, comparatively few startling results 
were obtained. The heavy table in the cabinet was violently 
and repeatedly shaken and all the objects on it were thrown 
on to the floor. The metronome was set in motion, but it 
is probable that this and other phenomena resulted from 
oscillations of the table. 

During the second seance, the small table in the cabinet 
came out of its own accord, in a jerky manner, these jerks 
corresponding with convulsive movements of Eusapia's hands 
or legs. Soon after this, touches by invisible hands were 
felt. Nearly all the sitters were touched in turn, Eusapia's 
hands being well controlled at the time. Twice an appari- 
tion of something black was perceived, resembling a head 
with a fairly distinct profile, that came out slowly, remained 
two or three seconds, then retired rapidly. Eusapia was 
asked to obtain movements of the electric keys and other 
instruments placed in the cabinet. She protested for a long 
time, saying that she did not know their meaning, that she 
could not find them, that she did not know how to do it, 
that they were too far off, etc. But in the ensuing seances, 
in spite of these protests, the various recording instruments 
were moved — buttons were pressed, the rod of the metro- 
nome was set swinging, etc. Dr. Bottazzi came to the con- 
clusion that the reason these phenomena had not been ob- 
tained in the first two seances was that the hands operative 
must become "familiar" with the instruments — just as human 
hands would have to become familiar with them. 

At the third seance, several complete levitations were ob- 
tained — most of them lasting but a few seconds. One of 



Eusapia Palladino in 

them, however, was extremely lengthy, and Professor Gal- 
eotti was enabled to count fifty with perfect regularity while 
the table remained in the air! A large number of visible 
and semivisible hands were observed at this seance — hands 
described as having the shining appearance of pearl, which 
were seen on Eusapia's head, or issued from between the cur- 
tains, and caressed the sitters. Mme. Bottazzi, while con- 
trolling the left hand of the medium, saw, almost touching 
her left cheek, a black hand, with a part of the forearm, and 
was so vividly impressed by it that she changed her position 
and took one farther off. 

Various objects from the cabinet were conveyed by some 
mysterious means on to the seance table. The little drum 
made repeated attempts to climb on to the table, while Pro- 
fessors Galeotti and Bottazzi were closely observing it. A 
bouquet of flowers, placed at a distance of more than three 
feet from the medium skimmed across the seance table and 
landed in Mme. Bottazzi's lap. 

At the fourth seance, lights were obtained for the first 
1 time. Hands and closed fists appeared over Eusapia's head, 
sometimes of ordinary size, sometimes, we are told, "at least 
three times larger than Mme. Palladino's hands and fists." 
Professor Bottazzi tried, on two or three occasions, to grasp 
these hands, but the apparition invariably dissolved and he 
grasped only empty space. Twice a black form was seen. A 
stethoscope was taken to pieces and put together again, which 
is certainly a very difficult feat with one hand. The follow- 
ing incident then occurred, which has great interest: 

"While the numerous touches and kissings were going on, 
which I felt and announced each time (although everybody 
heard them), on one occasion when my forehead had been 



;ii2 t Eusapia Palladino 

strongly rubbed, my pince-nez fell off my nose upon my 
knees. I wear them without a cord and I thought they had 
fallen on to the ground. I inquired at once of 'John,' and I 
distinctly felt soon afterwards a very delicate touch on my 
knee, as if a hand were trying to find something, and the 
-pince-nez were immediately replaced on my nose, with a very 
precise action. Needless to say I was keeping strict control 
of the medium all the time." 

The tambourine was then played, various letters on a 
typewriter were struck, and the sound was heard as of 
fingers running over the typewriter. An electric spring key, 
used by telegraphers, was pressed, and finally the key was 
torn to one side, and depressed so strongly that the metal 
was bent and the key practically destroyed. The metronome 
was set going, and, upon request, stopped. 

The fifth seance was notable for a number of quite re- 
markable phenomena. After several levitations, the mando- 
lin was touched and the strings of it twanged. The move- 
ment of the mandolin was observed by M. Scarpa, who saw 
the mandolin rise, and fall back again, then turn over with- 
out any hand touching it and in good light. Every move- 
ment of Mme. Palladino's arm was clearly perceivable at 
the time. An impression of three fingers was left on a cake 
of clay placed in the cabinet, and invisible hands began to 
finger the wires and other instruments inside the cabinet. 
The following phenomena then occurred: 

"Suddenly, without any warning, a sharp rap was heard 
upon the table. I looked, I felt. It was one of the glasses 
that had arrived, after pouring out on those nearest to it 
the solution of sulphate of copper which it contained. Pass- 
ing my left hand over my clothes I found them to be quite 
wet, and I complained to Eusapia, begging her not to play 



Eusapia Palladino 113 

practical jokes of this sort, because, as I told her, the liquid 
contained in the glasses was not innocuous, but might injure 
us, and leave stains on our clothes. I had hardly said this 
when we heard on the floor the sound of a liquid being vio- 
lently poured from out of the small vessel, and immediately 
afterwards the other glass, almost empty, was placed on the 
table beside the first, also making a sharp rap." 

At the conclusion of the seance, various graphic records 
were obtained by means of raps on the electric key, etc. 

At the sixth seance an interesting phenomenon took place, 
demonstrating the synchronous character of some of the phe- 
nomena with movements of Eusapia's body. Thus, two 
electric keys were arranged, one within the reach of Eusapia, 
the other beyond it. Eusapia touched one key with her left 
hand, and depressed it a number of times. Exactly corre- 
sponding with these depressions, the other key, beyond her 
reach, was also depressed, showing that the keys were pressed 
with perfect synchronism. The sixth seance was largely de- 
voted to attempts to obtain graphic records of some of the 
phenomena, but no definite results were obtained. 

The seventh seance, however, was far more productive of 
results. Various touches were experienced by Professor Bot- 
tazzi, and, soon after the seance began, his chair was sud- 
denly seized from behind, fingers of the hands moving it 
being distinctly felt, and he was pulled backward toward 
the cabinet. Professor Bottazzi states that he and the chair 
together weighed two hundred and four pounds, and the 
following day he ascertained if one of his assistants, who was 
3 r oung and robust, was capable of moving him when seated 
upon this same chair. The assistant was obliged to use both 
his arms in order to drag Professor Bottazzi a few inches, 
and admitted that he had put forth all his strength ! A vase 



ii4 Eusapia Palladino 

containing a bunch of flowers was next presented between 
the curtains and placed upon Mme. Palladino's head. It 
was taken by Professor Bottazzi and placed upon the seance 
table. The curtain on the left then advanced toward the 
table, and a hand, which was clearly delineated behind it, 
seized the bunch, and threw it against the extended face of 
Dr. Poso (to whom "John" had taken a violent dislike) as 
if in scorn, and carried the glass of water away. A remark- 
able incident then followed, which is recorded as follows: 

"I have said that the drum advanced behind the left cur- 
tain ; Galeotti tried to take it, but 'John' ( I will speak thus 
for brevity) pulled it out of his hands, carrying it inside 
the cabinet, and reappeared. Galeotti took it back, but the 
other did not let go; then followed an amusing struggle 
which lasted several seconds, during which we distinctly 
saw the drum contested by Galeotti, who held it outside, and 
'John,' who held it inside, with a hand covered by the cur- 
tain. The struggle was so lively that a little piece of the 
case of the drum was torn off. Finally it remained in 
Galeotti's hands. Galeotti then had a good idea. He got 
up, raised the drum with one hand against the curtain and 
said : 'Hit it, John !' The curtain shook, it was pushed out 
toward the drum as if by a hand, and we heard muffled, 
yet distinct, beats on the drum ; we were amazed. M. Gal- 
eotti was standing, be it observed, with his arm raised, and 
Mme. Palladino was seated. Even if we suppose that she 
could have liberated one hand (certainly not the one under 
my control; and Mme. B. declares she did not liberate the 
other, but one cannot be absolutely certain), Eusapia, being 
seated, could not have touched the drum — unless she had had 
gigantically long arms, or unless her natural arms had been 
suddenly elongated. 

"Once, when the drum was presented above Eusapia's 
head from the interior of the cabinet, I said to Dr. Poso: 
'Take it.' He got up, approached the drum and stretched 
out his arm. But the drum withdrew a little, then it vio- 



Eusapia Palladino 115 

lently moved as if to give a blow, and pushed back the hand 
that tried to seize it. John was still in a bad humor." 

"The materializations," says Professor Bottazzi, "were 
numerous and very important. Four times I saw an enor- 
mous black fist come out from behind the left curtain, which 
remained motionless, and advance toward the head of Mme. 
B. Immediately afterwards this lady said that she had been 
touched either on the cheek, the ear, or the neck. The last 
time the fist remained so long outside that when, at my re- 
quest, everyone looked that way, it was quite distinctly seen 
by all. But what I am about to relate is perhaps the phe- 
nomenon which most impressed me. 

"I felt an open hand seize me from behind, gently, by the 
neck. Instinctively I let go of Dr. Poso's right hand with 
my left, and I carried it where I clearly felt this sensation 
of contact, and I found the hand which was touching me: 
a left hand, neither cold nor hot, with rough, bony fingers 
which dissolved under pressure; they did not retire by pro- 
ducing a sensation of withdrawal, but they dissolved, de- 
mat erialized. melted. 

"Shortly afterwards, the same hand was laid on my head; 
I carried mine quickly to the spot, I felt it, I grasped it; 
it was obliterated and again disappeared in my grasp. 

"Another time, later on, the same hand was placed on 
my right forearm, without squeezing it. On this occasion 
I not only carried my left hand to the spot, but I looked, 
so I could see and feel at the same time; I saw a human 
hand, of natural color, and I felt with mine the fingers and 
the back of a lukewarm, nervous, rough hand. The hand 
dissolved, and (I saw it with my eyes) retreated as if into 
Mme. P alladino' s body, describing a curve. I confess that 
I felt some doubt as to whether Eusapia's left hand had freed 
itself from my right hand, to reach my forearm; but at the 
same instant I was able to prove to myself that the doubt 
was groundless, because our two hands were still in con- 
tact in the ordinary way. If all the observed phenomena 
of the seven seances were to disappear from my memory, 
this one I could never forget. . . . 



n6 Eusapia Palladino 

"Two apparitions of human faces were also seen, not 
dark, but natural in color, very pale, almost diaphanous, 
but well lit up. Each time the apparition was announced 
by Eusapia. The first time a head appeared above hers; 
but I did not see it, and I report this according to what I 
was told by the others. It was asked : 'Who is it ?' and Eusa- 
pia replied in a thin voice: 'It is Peppino!' The second time 
Eusapia leaned her brow on mine, and said immediately 
afterwards: 'Look!' We looked and saw behind the edge 
of the left curtain a very pale human head, clearly lit up. 
We were not at all in agreement as to the interpretation of 
the vision. M. B. affirmed that he saw the head of John 
King in a turban, as he has been seen at other seances; M. 
Galeotti also said that he saw something white round a head, 
which must have been a turban." 

An eighth seance was held in July, 1907, in the physiologi- 
cal laboratory, on which occasion Eusapia's hands were secure- 
ly tied and sealed to two iron rings fastened to the floor. 
Strong cords led to the wrists from these rings, and were 
wound round them and securely tied. The length of the 
cords was such that, no matter in what direction she moved 
her hands, she could reach none of the objects in the cabinet. 
At the conclusion of the seance, the ropes and seals were ex- 
amined, and were found to be intact. Yet, during the seance, 
various articles were carried from the cabinet on to the table — 
touches, raps, apparitions of hands, and huge fists were seen, 
as well as the following phenomena, recorded by Professor 
Bottazzi : 

"(1) Eusapia said to me: 'Stretch out your arm on your 
wife's shoulder.' I did so, and felt the trumpet being held 
out toward me from behind the curtain, and I at once recog- 
nized it by the touch. I seized it and placed it on the little 
table. 

"(2) Later on, without any warning, a sound as if the 



Eusapia Palladino 117 

curtain were being touched was heard on Eusapia's right 
side. The curtain shook a little, while the vase of flowers 
advanced on the same side. I seized the latter and placed it 
on the small table. 

"(3) While Galeotti was controlling Eusapia's right hand, 
he distinctly saw the doubling of the left arm of the me- 
dium. 'Look,' he exclaimed, 'I see two left arms — identical 
in appearance ; one is on the little table, and it is that which 
M. Bottazzi touches, and the other seems to come out of her 
shoulder — to approach her, and touch her, and then return 
and melt into her body again. This is not an hallucina- 
tion. I am awake, I am conscious of the two simultaneous 
visual sensations, which I experience when Mme. Bottazzi 
says that she has been touched.' " 

Professor Bottazzi, in commenting on these phenomena, 
says: 

"It would be necessary to have Mme. Palladino's fingers 
in the palm of one's hand, as I had that evening, in order to 
be convinced that the levitations, the twanging of the strings, 
etc., all synchronized with the very delicate movements of her 
fingers, and with the dragging and pushing movements of the 
medium's hand, as if she were directed in the execution of these 
movements by a will which knew the effect to be produced. 
These were not irregular, impulsive, disordered movements 
— they were precise and coordinated. Whether they were 
movements of one finger, or of several fingers, and were 
identical with those which we should make if we tried to 
seize or to vibrate the strings with precision and delicacy. 
Two of us, M. Scarpa and I, had our eyes fixed on the 
mandolin, and we can affirm with assurance that the instru- 
ment, lit up by the lamp above it, was not touched by 
Eusapia's visible hands, which were at least thirty inches 
away, but that it moved by itself, as if, by enchantment, 
it had been provided with motor organs. It looked like 
the carcass of some monstrous reptile, which had been re- 
stored to life. I cannot describe the sensation one experiences 



n8 Eusapia Palladino 

when seeing an inanimate object move, not for a mo- 
ment merely, but for many minutes in succession, and, watch- 
ing it together in silence, moving among immovable objects, 
untouched, under the action of some mysterious force. . . . 
The medium does not only move objects, but also feels with 
her invisible limbs, and while the movement was performed 
on the left, phenomena occurred to the right of Mme. Palla- 
dino." 

As the result of his seances, Professor Bottazzi concluded 
that the phenomena are undoubted — whatever their inter- 
pretation. He further asserted that fraud had never been 
even attempted at their seances, that Eusapia never used 
any expedients to deceive him, but that, on the contrary, she 
invariably warned them every time she moved a table or a 
curtain with her own hands. He concludes: 

"To those who deny without having seen, affirming 
a priori the impossibility of these phenomena, one must reply : 
'First see ; then you may argue.' " 



§ 20. Report of a Seance Held in Naples — 1908 

The following interesting seance was held in Professor 
Bottazzi's laboratory, under the same conditions as his former 
seances, and was attended by Mr. Gilman Hall, one of the 
editors of Everybody s Magazine, and Dr. Herbert R. Moody, 
Professor of Chemistry in the College of the City of New 
York. These gentlemen drew up the reports of the seance, 
which were originally published in Everybody's, and which, 
with their kind permission, and that of the magazine, I quote 
herewith. It gives us a vivid pen picture of a typical seance 
— as seen through the eyes of an unprejudiced investigator. 



Eusapia Palladino 119 



A Seance with Mme. Palladino 

The seance was held in the same laboratory and with the 
same cabinet that Professor Bottazzi had used in all his pre- 
vious experiments. It was a bare room with cement floor and 
bare walls — a room with almost no fixtures or laboratory 
paraphernalia. There were one or two shelves around; a 
stone pedestal; and a window opening on a garden. The 
cabinet was formed by a recess opposite the door by which we 
had entered; and the back of it was a door leading into 
another laboratory. This door and the door leading out of 
the second laboratory were locked by Professor Bottazzi in 
Dr. Moody's presence, and Professor Bottazzi put the keys 
in his pocket. The cabinet was about twenty-four inches 
deep. Professor Bottazzi had placed in it a shelf nine inches 
wide about three feet from the floor, and on this shelf he 
had put various things — a scale, a trumpet, a small drum, 
a box of matches, a heavy brass candlestick, and an electric 
bell. 

There was no intention on our part of reporting the 
seance. The time was too short for extensive preparations. 
So, while we took many precautions and made a number of 
tests, yet we depended on Professor Bottazzi for all the 
preliminary arrangements. 

Professor Bottazzi and his assistant joined us at the table, 
making a party of nine, which proved an unwieldy number. 
Mme. Palladino sat about one foot in front of the curtain 
that hung before the recess, and faced the end of the table. 
I sat at her right, but around the corner. Mme. Palladino 
faced east, I looked north. Mrs. Moody sat beside me and 
Dr. Moody beside her, both facing north. Mrs. Hall sat 
at the medium's left and opposite me, facing south. The 
rest of the party finished out the circle, which extended be- 
yond the table. Professor Bottazzi sat directly opposite 
Mme. Palladino and at least three feet beyond the end of 
the table. Mrs. Hall and I by our position were in charge 
of the psychic, and it was our duty to see that all the neces- 
sary tests were put on her. I held her right hand. By her 



120 Eusapia Palladino 

instructions, I pressed my knee against hers and put my left 
foot over her right one. Mrs. Hall applied the same tests 
on the left. 

The curtains in front of the cabinet were black, made of 
some thin material like cheesecloth. The table was a light 
deal one — about two by four, and the chairs were rather 
light, common ones. We began the seance with a red sixteen- 
candle electric light on a wall bracket, quite high above Mrs. 
Hall's head, and a sixteen-candle white light on a small shelf 
back of Professor Bottazzi. Soon, at Mme. Palladino's re- 
quest, we turned the white light out. The seance was not 
one hour along when, by request of the "spirit" controlling 
the medium, we placed a handkerchief over the red light. 
Later, we put another handkerchief on. And later still, the 
handkerchiefs burned and we took them both off. We could 
see plainly all through the seance. 

Within a minute after we seated ourselves, the table be- 
gan to tremble. I noticed it almost instantly and called the 
attention of everyone to it. It seemed to me as though the 
fiber of the wood was vibrating. 

Within five minutes, the table began to rock and rise from 
the floor. One end would lift up from six to twelve inches 
and then drop noisily. Now one end, now the other would 
come up. Then the table would lift on one side. Dr. Moody 
pressed against it at one of these times and said he thought 
it took a pressure of three pounds to force a release of the 
table from the unseen power. 

Soon raps began. The table was pounded on the floor 
for raps — generally ordinary ones ; but now and then it would 
strike the floor with great violence, giving a startling effect 
of emphasis. The table tipping continued at intervals 
throughout the seance, growing stronger and more pro- 
nounced as time wore on. There was one very dramatic lift 
near the end of the sitting. Mme. Palladino suddenly thrust 
both her hands high above her — Mrs. Hall and I being drawn 
from our chairs in our efforts to retain our holds on her, and 
the table — every leg of it — rose all of eighteen inches from 
the floor. The synchronism which Mr. Garland told of in 



Eusapia Palladino 121 

his articles was perfect in this experiment. The table fol- 
lowed the psychic's hands on the moment. 

The first twenty minutes we spent in trying to identify 
the "spirit" controlling the raps. There was talk of a "John 
King" — whom Mme. Palladino said was her "spirit control." 
We asked if there was anyone in the room with whom the 
spirit wished to communicate and got an answer — "yes." 
It proved to be Mrs. Moody that was meant, and soon the 
table moved toward her — nearer and nearer — and finally 
pressed against her chest. But the answers were contradic- 
tory, the results futile, and we gave it up. Anyway, 
we were looking for physical phenomena. 

The next manifestation after the table raising was a sud- 
den swirl of the curtain, which enveloped me completely. 
From hanging limp, it suddenly rose high in the air — as 
though blown by a strong wind — and fell over me. I re- 
mained in that position a full ten minutes; for it gave me an 
excellent view of the inside of the cabinet. But nothing of 
importance occurred there, beyond a marked movement of 
the other curtain. I had hardly thrown the curtain off when 
there was a crackling sound and the table leg under me be- 
gan to split, at the point where it joined the table. I felt 
the leg press against me as it moved. Professor Bottazzi 
cried out a protest, "Here, John King, leave my table 
alone," and it stopped. 

"He broke a table to pieces for me once. I do not want 
it done again," commented Professor Bottazzi. 

The action seemed like that of a miniature flash of light- 
ning; the sound was of rending wood — a splitting, tearing 
sound. 

We spent sometime trying to persuade the "spirit" to 
bring us a fan which lay on the pedestal under the red light, 
but we failed utterly. A minute later, though, some force 
knocked the matches from the shelf in the cabinet to the 
floor. Suddenly Professor Bottazzi cried out excitedly: 
"Here comes the candlestick." There darted through my 
mind the thought that this was the crucial time for me to 
know beyond all doubt that I was holding Mme. Palladino's 



122 Eusapia Palladino 

hand. I clenched it firmly and instead of looking at the 
candlestick I gazed steadfastly at the hand I held. The 
candlestick, a heavy brass one, and the candle it held came 
from the shelf in the cabinet up through the opening in the 
curtains about a foot above the medium's head, and landed 
with a crashing blow on the table in front of Mrs. Moody. 
The candle fell out and then both candle and stick rolled into 
her lap. On the way to the laboratory I had said : "If I could 
only see some object moved one inch I should be satisfied." 
I had had my wish in full measure. 

We had not time to recover before a heavy, clumsy, crock- 
ery plate containing a wad of clay, which Professor Bottazzi 
had placed in a vacant chair some two feet to the left of 
Mme. Palladino, came hurtling with tremendous force and 
almost superhuman speed on to the table. It landed with 
a really appalling noise. The effect was as though it had 
been thrown by a giant's hand and in great anger. There 
was a wait of a few minutes. Then some force swept the 
remaining objects from the shelf in the cabinet. The drum 
fell, the trumpet followed ; there was a succession of various 
noises from falling bodies. "There go the scales," said Pro- 
fessor Bottazzi, as the heavy thud of falling iron was 
heard. 

For some of his previous experiments, Professor Bottazzi 
told me, he had cut a peephole in the door which formed the 
back of the cabinet, and one of his assistants had been sta- 
tioned there. An electric light was placed on the wall of 
the cabinet, the wires for which led to a push button in Pro- 
fessor Bottazzi's pocket. During some of the amazing phe- 
nomena, such as we witnessed, Dr. Bottazzi had switched on 
the light so that his assistant could see clearly into the cabi- 
net. He proved beyond a question that no one approached the 
cabinet from behind, and that no one was in it. 

If Mme. Palladino went into a trance, it was not, for the 
major part of the time, a deep one. She was conscious of 
almost all our doings. During the seance, and particularly 
during the earlier stages of it, she coughed a great deal, cleared 
her throat repeatedly, and suffered severely from hiccoughs. 



Eusapia Palladino 123 

She interspersed her manifestations with remarks to Pro- 
fessor Bottazzi, which he sometimes translated. Often she 
called out in a half moan asking if we had a good control 
over her. "She always inquires about that," volunteered 
our mentor. A dozen times during the evening she cried 
out in complaint of our gripping her hands so tightly. Just 
before anything spectacular happened she moaned, and seemed 
to sink suddenly but temporarily into a deeper, perhaps an 
entire trance. Her head would roll a little from side to side, 
but in a moment she would return to her half consciousness 
again, and would show a somewhat dazed knowledge of what 
was going on. Before the seance was a half hour old, she 
threw her legs up on our laps — her left leg on Mrs. Hall's 
lap and her right one on mine. She held this position for 
a good part of the sitting. Before and during the manifesta- 
tions, there were violent convulsive movements of the arms 
and sometimes of the legs. We grew used to these and soon 
learned to call out a warning of some impending action when 
we felt these muscular movements. 

The next occurrence was a startling one — and aimed di- 
rectly at me. My chair was seized from behind by a power- 
ful force, and an attempt was made to drag it from under 
me. I had again the impression of a giant at work in our 
presence. I cried out. All saw me moving. The force 
tugged at the chair and nearly succeeded in getting it from 
me. I was swerved around so that I faced Mrs. Moody and 
was seated on only a third of the chair. Though everyone 
saw me moving, no one saw any figure or apparition back of 
me. I had just resumed my position when I felt a hand move 
across my back as though some one were reaching by me to 
Mrs. Moody. Mrs. Hall, too, felt some one touch her on 
the back. 

There was a series of remarkable kicks in the cabinet — a 
noise like the pounding of a horse's hoof in a near-by stable 
in the dead of night. No man could have produced it. It 
was made apparently within the fiber of the wood. And here 
the synchronism between the convulsive workings of the me- 
dium's muscles and the manifestations was marked. Mrs. 



124 Eusapia Palladino 

Hall felt Mme. Palladino's foot thrust forward with great 
force, in time with each kick in the cabinet behind her. 

Professor Bottazzi here said that he was surprised at our 
calmness. We ought to get more excited. We ought to 
talk more — to demand manifestations. We should select 
some one thing and then clamor for it. Supposing, for in- 
stance, we tried to lift the empty chair to the table. 

So we tried. 

Mme. Palladino asked us to set our minds on the task. 
We did. We all talked at one time. We called out de- 
mands that the chair be lifted. The noise became a veritable 
babel. Mme. Palladino's hands worked convulsively — 
though held by us — as if in an effort to lift the chair. And 
up it came — a foot or so from the floor, giving the impres- 
sion of a magnet's work. Then, as if the magnet's power 
had failed, the chair dropped to the floor and rocked back 
to its normal position. Twice, three times, four times we 
tried, but the lifting power was not strong enough. After 
a few moments, however, with amazing swiftness the chair 
came on to the table — and lay on its back. It seemed in- 
credible. We made several efforts to will the chair to an 
upright position, but in that we did not succeed. 

Mme. Palladino here spoke to Professor Bottazzi in a 
half-querulous voice. "She is complaining of the circle," he 
said. "She says it is a poor one and does not help her." I 
realized the truth of her complaint. The circle was un- 
wieldy in numbers ; having no common language was a serious 
handicap ; Mme. Palladino had been ill for two months and 
was far from strong; three of our party knew nothing of 
psychics; Dr. Moody had come to the meeting under pro- 
test and in utter scorn of it all. There were a dozen reasons 
why the circle was of small potency. 

The blowing out of the curtain was a frequent occurrence, 
and those nearest the cabinet felt often a cool breeze — as 
though a window had been thrown open. "Has anyone 
noticed a light above Mme. Palladino's head?" inquired Dr. 
Bottazzi. We all turned to him. "There it is now," called 
Mrs. Hall, and we all turned quickly back. But it had gone. 



Eusapia Palladino 125 

"Let's will it back," suggested some one, and we set up a 
clamor demanding it. It came at once — a pear-shaped light 
about six inches above the medium's head. I did not see it, 
but every other member of the circle did. It appeared to 
them like a faint electric light shining through a ground-glass 
bulb. At the same time Mme. Palladino's face was illumi- 
nated. Her skin shone as though phosphorescent. 

It was now twelve o'clock and we broke up the circle. We 
arose, turned on the white electric light, and I walked around 
the table. Professor Bottazzi then took Mme. Palladino's 
hand — in bright light and with no circle — and produced 
sharp raps. He beat her hand toward the table, stopping 
short when within twelve inches of the top — and a rap would 
come from under the table. Most of the phenomena had 
been synchronous with her movements, but these raps would 
follow a perceptible moment after the beat of the finger. 

I have been often asked if I was convinced. I can see no 
other alternative than acceptance of the phenomena. Only 
one of the main phenomena took place entirely in the cabi- 
net ; only one other important one — the moving of the candle- 
stick — originated in the cabinet. All the rest of the mani- 
festations occurred in the room and in clear light. There 
could not possibly have been any preparations in the labora- 
tory that would not have been visible to us. Had Mme. 
Palladino used paraphernalia for trickery, we should have 
been able to see it when the manifestations were in process — 
for it was light enough for that. On these points we are 
all agreed. 

I asked Professor Bottazzi about the chances of fake. He 
was as impatient of the subject as he had been of spiritual- 
ism. He had had trained scientific men to help him in his 
experiments. Many people had been present at the various 
seances. The phenomena had been established in utter final- 
ity. But they had led nowhere. He had reached only a 
circle of phenomena. He had "come face to a blank wall." 
He was through — for the present, anyway. 

Professor Bottazzi's assistant brought Mme. Palladino a 
cup of strong coffee. She seemed dazed and in real distress. 



126 Eusapia Palladino 

Where she had been gracious before, she now seemed hardly 
to realize our presence. She showed many of the symptoms 
of a person in dire seasickness. She looked old and seamed 
and yellow. She seemed to have little strength left. She 
drank a little coffee, placed the cup on a shelf, crossed the 
room to the window opening on the garden, and vomited. 
Professor Bottazzi said she was always weak and nauseated 
after a sitting. We all stood about, and I, for one, felt like 
a guilty child. It seemed wrong that we should have caused 
this woman such sickness just to satisfy our curiosity and 
interest in psychical experiments. I gained an added respect 
for her from the thought of all she had been doing for 
years at so heavy a cost, in her sittings for the various sci- 
entists. We waited perhaps twenty minutes and then said 
our farewell to Mme. Palladino — a farewell which she re- 
turned with a limp hand and an indifference strangely in 
contrast with her early greetings. Madame went out first. 
As we left the building, we passed her, leaning heavily on 
the arm of her husband, who had been waiting for her out- 
side; dragging herself slowly and painfully along the nar- 
row lane which leads to one of those wonderful streets of 
steps in Naples — which, in turn, gives on the larger street 
where the carriage waited. 

Gilman Hall. 



Notes on the Palladino Seance 
Location: 

An ordinary biochemical laboratory, practically unfur- 
nished, with a cement floor and a few shelves, in the Uni- 
versity of Naples. Two double doors — both leading into 
other laboratories equipped for regular preparative work, one 
door — that by which we had entered — left ajar all the even- 
ing, with the room beyond well lighted ; the other door shut 
and locked in my presence — after I had thoroughly examined 
the rooms — and the key put into Professor Bottazzi's pocket. 
This latter door was midway through an alcove, making a 
recess about two feet deep on our side of it, the recess cur- 



Eusapia Palladino 127 

tafned off with a simple black cheesecloth curtain. Across 
the back, behind the curtain, a shelf eight to ten inches wide. 
Equipment : 

Ten rush-bottom chairs; a large plate containing clay on 
an unoccupied chair two feet from Palladino; a plain deal 
table — no drawer (could see under it, a pedestal five 
feet high; two wall shelves a foot wide; one red electric 
bracket lamp; and one portable white lamp on wall shelf. 
Procedure: 

Circle formed and all held hands lightly. Those at the 
two horns of circle held Palladino's hands and kept their 
feet and knees against hers. Later she extended her legs 
so that second sitters beyond guarded her feet. Her move- 
ments always kept under absolutely perfect surveillance. 
White lamp burned at first, later screened, after five minutes 
or so extinguished. This left full power red lamp; later, 
receiving five raps for less light, this was screened with two 
handkerchiefs. Eyes accustomed themselves to dim light — 
all could see even the expressions on others' faces. 
Phenomena: 

Almost imperceptible tingling through hands — comparable 
to feeble current. Table began to rear almost at once, at 
first with Palladino's hands on it, but soon with no hand 
whatever touching it. Maximum height of elevation about 
eighteen inches. Always descended with violence, not as 
if falling but as if thrown down, with noisy clatter. I pushed 
it down myself once; required from three to five pounds' 
pressure to overcome elevation. Fiber of table trembled, 
quivered. All in full light. Got usual one, two, three, four, 
five knocks at will at any time upon request. Their signifi- 
cance seemed slight except as directions for more or less light, 
or a request to talk among ourselves. Instead of diminish- 
ing Palladino's power by talking, during utterly inconsequen- 
tial conversation fine results came. This points to possibility 
of desire to distract attention of observer until object is 
practically accomplished. If so, in our case this was not suc- 
cessful ; we were continuously alert. Doubt if this were in- 
tended, as conditions absolutely gave no chance for fraud 



128 Eusapia Palladino 

and because at all times when we concentrated our minds on 
what we wished done, the end was reached more quickly. 
For example, appearance of phosphorescent luminosity in 
pear-shaped form about a foot above Palladino's head. Part 
of the time her face was mildly luminous. Afterwards Pro- 
fessor Bottazzi rather discredited this, but it was apparent 
enough to me. 

Phenomena of telekinesis were wonderful. Candlestick 
and candle came through opening between curtains and pro- 
ceeded in a leisurely way in a sort of parabolic trajectory 
and fell rather violently on edge of table and into Mrs. 
Moody's lap. Plate containing ball of clay rose from chair 
a foot from corner of table and dropped to table top with 
a violent bang. Nearly everything on shelf in recess was 
noisily thrown down and, queerly enough, directly under 
the shelf — not on the floor in front of it. Cool draughts de- 
veloped, an "arm" appeared around the side of the curtain 
at a height of about six feet. Mr. Hall's chair was al- 
most pulled from under him, a hand touched Mrs. Hall's 
back, and after various slight excursions across the floor 
the unoccupied chair finally rose and lay on its back on 
the table, then moved off on to the floor. Door behind 
curtain was hit several hard blows resembling kick of a 
horse. 

After the circle was broken, and in full light, Professor 
Bottazzi held Palladino's hand and moved her finger tip 
through space of about an inch. The finger never got nearer 
than six inches from the table, and yet there was a distinct 
knock as if a force were propelled from finger and struck 
the table directly underneath. This was done in various 
parts of the table. 

Important to observe that all kicks, noises, and movements 
were synchronous with spasmodic movements of Palladino's 
muscles. Also phenomena were preceded and accompanied 
by signs of hysteria, coughs, and unusual noises. Palladino 
much exhausted after sitting, had active nausea, and no 
strength to leave until twenty minutes after the end of the 
sitting. 



Eusapia Palladino 129 

Conclusion: 

Considering the sort of phenomena that I am accustomed 
to observe, my preconceived opinions were at variance with 
these facts, but I had to accept what I saw. 

Herbert R. Moody, Ph.D. 



§ 21. Report of the Psychological Institute, Paris, 1908 

One of the latest reports on the mediumship of Eusapia 
Palladino is that issued by the "Institut General Psycholo- 
gique," of Paris, which appeared in November, 1908, under 
the signature of M. Jules Courtier, Secretary of the Insti- 
tute. It is based on four series of elaborate experiments, 
carried out during the years 1905, 1906, 1907, and 1908. 
The Report is divided into two parts, the whole of one part 
being devoted to photographs of phenomena — levitations, 
etc., of the seance room, apparatus, the medium herself, 
graphic tracings of the phenomena, etc. 

The text of the Report is roughly divided into four parts: 
(1) A description of the phenomena themselves ; (2) psycho- 
physiological studies of the medium; (3) exploration of the 
physical conditions in the vicinity of the medium; and (4) 
critical considerations. I shall give a brief resume of these, 
in turn. 

The chief sitters at the seances held in Paris under the 
supervision of the Institute were — in addition to M. Jules 
Courtier — M. d'Arsonval, Professor at the College de 
France; MM. Ballet, Richet, Perrin, Bergson, and Mme. 
Curie — all professors at the University of Paris; M. Char- 
pentier, professor at the Nancy Lyceum; M. Debierne, prin- 
cipal at the Sorbonne, and M. Yourievitch, Secretary to the 
Russian Ambassador at Paris. 



130 Eusapia Palladino 

Particular attention was paid throughout to obtaining 
tracings of the phenomena by the graphic method. Many 
illustrations of such tracings are given in the illustrated por- 
tion of the report. 

Raps are first considered, and numerous cases are cited in 
which these were obtained. I quote two of these cases, by 
way of illustrating the manner in which the phenomena were 
recorded. 

"Eusapia says that she wishes to hit the table with her 
head; she bends her head three times over the table, and 
three strong blows are heard in the table. (Controllers: On 
the left, Mme. Curie; on the right, M. Debierne.)" 

"At other times, the blows were heard in the table at the 
demand of the controllers and as many times as the con- 
trollers asked for them. (Controllers: On the left, M. 
Curie; on the right, M. Charles Richet.)" 

Partial and complete levitations of the table are then con- 
sidered. I quote from an excellent summary of these phe- 
nomena in The Annals of Psychical Science (July-Septem- 
ber, 1909) : 

"The two hands, feet, and knees of Eusapia being con- 
trolled, the table is raised suddenly, all four feet leaving the 
ground; then two and again four feet; Eusapia closes her 
fists, and holds them toward the table, which is then com- 
pletely raised from the floor five times in succession, five 
raps being also given. It is again completely raised, while 
each of Eusapia's hands is on the head of a sitter. It is 
raised to the height of one foot from the floor and suspended 
in the air for seven seconds while Eusapia kept her hand on 
the table and a lighted candle was placed under the table; 
it was completely raised to a height of ten inches from the 
floor and suspended in the air for four seconds, M. Curie 



Eusapia Palladino 131 

only having his hand on the table, Eusapfa's hand being placed 
on top of his. It was completely raised when M. Curie had 
his hand on Eusapia's knees and Eusapia had one hand on 
the table and the other on M. Curie's head, her two feet 
tied to the chair on which she was sitting. . . ." 

Wooden cones or tubes were then applied to the table 
legs, resembling those used by us (see p. 180), but the 
table was several times levitated to such a height that it 
came completely out of the "sheaths." An electrical arrange- 
ment was then affixed to the legs of the table. Had a foot 
been introduced under the table legs, it would have been 
instantly discovered by means of signals. Yet, in spite of 
these precautions, the table continued to be levitated, but 
no contact was registered by the electrical apparatus. 

It was noted that the medium became heavier by the weight 
of the table when the table was levitated, showing that the 
fulcrum of the force was the subject herself. Yet she was 
enabled to voluntarily reduce her weight on another occa- 
sion — a phenomenon that has been noted years before at 
Milan (pp. 30-31). 

Bulgings or swellings of the curtains and of the medium's 
dress were noted. M. Curie suggested that this force might 
be directed by some mechanical means toward a distant ob- 
ject. Accordingly, at the next seance a wooden frame was 
brought, which, it was hoped, might effect this. "It dis- 
pleased Eusapia, who criticised it severely: it was strongly 
shaken and finally destroyed. When this occurred, Eusapia 
w r as controlled by M. Curie on the left, M. Richet on the 
right, and her two feet by M. Yourievitch." 

Various heavy objects were seen to be moved without ap- 
parent cause; particularly a small, three-legged wooden 
table, which went backward and forward at Eusapia's com- 



132 Eusapia Falladino 

mand. When this was happening, Eusapia's feet were tied 
by laces to the legs of her chair, and her wrists tied to those 
of her controllers. The following remarkable incident then 
occurred, which I quote verbatim: 

"M. Ballet holds Eusapia's two hands. M. d'Arsonval 
has placed his arm on the stool. Eusapia tells M. d'Arson- 
val to try to raise the stool. He tries to do so, but finds it 
very difficult. Eusapia leans her elbow on the stool, then 
she removes it, and asks M. d'Arsonval to raise it again. 
M. d'Arsonval cannot succeed. 'One would think it nailed 
to the ground,' said he. Eusapia again places her elbow on 
the stool, and M. d'Arsonval raises it then with difficulty. 
Some minutes afterwards, Eusapia says to the stool, 'Be 
light!' and M. d'Arsonval raises it then still more easily." 

Following these cases, instances are given of touches by 
hands; lights, which formed and disappeared suddenly, etc. 
Descriptions are given of the various lights — for the details 
of which I must refer the reader to the report itself. 

The second portion of the Report is devoted to a psycho- 
physiological study of the medium. It is of interest primar- 
ily to the medical man and to the psychologist. Her re- 
action times, memory of colors, memory of figures, optical 
illusions, powers of mental calculation, etc., were tested, and 
are accurately recorded in the Report. Experiments testing 
her sensibility at a distance yielded negative results — which 
fact is of interest, in view of the theories of the phenomena 
advanced by some who have studied them. She is very sensi- 
tive to the muscular movements of her controllers during the 
seance. Her strength was also tested with a dynamometer 
— with varying results. 

The investigators next wished to test the effect upon phy- 
sical instruments of Eusapia's "fluid." Alterations in weight 



Eusapia 'Palladino 133 

were noted; a depression of a recording scale, of a Roman 
scale, and a cocoon weigher. The depression of a letter 
weigher seemed to yield uncertain results. Eusapia suc- 
ceeded in discharging at a distance three electroscopes of 
different construction, but she was not able to charge the 
electroscope by means of the cold breeze coming from the 
scar in her skull. No phenomena of ionization were observed. 

"Sonorous Waves. A glass placed in full light between 
her hands, at a distance of three millimeters, was made to 
vibrate without apparent contact, as though a moist finger 
had been placed on the edge; then followed the rhythm 
of her hands, which began to tremble in a jerky manner; it 
glided forward and backward, fell on to the table and 
broke." 

The whole of the second part is devoted to a critical dis- 
cussion of the evidence, and need not be summarized here. 
Details of the control of the hands and the feet are given; 
and it is stated — what all investigators of Eusapia's medium- 
ship know only too well — that she objects to certain kinds 
of control. A long discussion of her fraud then follows, 
and several instances are given where Eusapia was caught 
in the act of trickery. Her frauds are, unfortunately, only 
too well known, and it is unnecessary to dwell upon them 
here. Skepticism exists in the minds of the majority, in 
any case; and it would be unnecessary to accentuate it by 
recitals of fraud. If the reality of the phenomena were 
really in doubt, it might be justifiable to do so; but when 
there is no longer any doubt as to the reality of the phe- 
nomena, it would be misleading to emphasize, unduly, the 
small amount of fraud that had been practised in her seances 
in the past. There has been a certain amount of fraud; 
that is certain. But I am convinced that this amount is very 



134 Eusapia Palladino 

small indeed — compared with the vast mass of the phenomena 
that have been observed in the past. It may be said in this 
connection that various experiments conducted with the ob- 
ject of duplicating the phenomena by fraudulent means, re- 
sulted, in almost every case, in complete failure. 



§ 22. Miscellaneous Cases Illustrative of the Phenomena 

In the August and September (1907) issues of The 
Annals of Psychical Science, Dr. Joseph Venzano, a dis- 
tinguished doctor of Genoa, gathered together a number of 
remarkable instances under the heading: "A Contribution to 
the Study of Materializations." I have referred to one of 
his cases on pp. 283-84 when elaborating my own explanatory 
theory of the facts, and shall give here merely a resume 
of his cases, which are partly original and partly gathered 
from other sources. "It is certain," he says, "that a large 
proportion of mediumistic phenomena suggest the interven- 
tion of a conscious entity, who, whatever may be its origin, 
is able to objectify itself in such a manner as to acquire 
the character of a materialized form." He excludes, how- 
ever, from this category, levitations and similar phenomena, 
apparently due to a blind force. 

The first incident referred to by Dr. Venzano is that 
which occurred at the house of M. Alfredo Verisso, at Genoa. 
In full light, it will be observed, the following incident 
took place: 

"When the seance had just begun, and while the room 
was still lighted by an electric lamp of sixteen-candle power, 
a very important phenomenon was observed, namely, a trum- 
pet was distinctly heard playing inside the cabinet, at dif- 
ferent distances from the ground, so that all heard it. Shortly 



Eusapia Palladino 135 

afterwards M. Brignola called the attention of the ex- 
perimenters toward the ceiling, where the trumpet appeared 
suspended in the air between the two curtains, and a little 
behind them, at a height of not less than a yard above the 
medium's head. It was placed transversely, with the open- 
ing toward the right side, on which I was seated, and the 
other extremity toward my wife, who had taken her place 
opposite to me and to the left of Eusapia. The hands of the 
latter were lying motionless on the table, controlled by ours, 
and perfectly visible to everybody. After a time the trumpet 
withdrew, and in retiring it again emitted various sounds 
several times." 

At a seance held at the Minerva Club, May 22, 1900, 
and attended by Professors Morselli, Porro, and a number 
of distinguished men and women, the following incident 
occurred : 

"The control was more strict than ever. The guitar sus- 
pended on the wall was heard to move. It was unfastened 
and carried in the air; it passed round the table, rapped re- 
peatedly on the head of Professor Porro, and finally stopped 
on the table. A little later it rose to the height of more 
than a yard, and again began hovering round the heads of 
the sitters before returning to the table. The tambourine, 
which, as we have said, was placed on a chair in the cabinet, 
also moved. At one time the guitar rose up again, and 
moved about in the air at the same time as the tambourine. 
This time the guitar went very high up, and it was distinctly 
seen crossing the room at the level of the top of the curtain] 
(more than ten feet from the floor) followed by a streak 
of light, due probably to the reflection of the light of the 
candle coming from the anteroom and falling on the back 
of the guitar itself. The control remained very strict. Sud- 
denly a bulky object was heard to be placed on the table, 
and by the dim light it was seen to come from the corner 
of the room to the left of the medium. Dr. Venzano, who 
was at the end of the table farthest from the medium, was- 



136 Eusapia Palladino 

able to see this bulky object rise in the air, from the left 
corner of the room, pass over the head of Professor Mor- 
selli and place itself on the large table in front of him. It 
was found that this object was the large No. 6 'Barlock' 
typewriter, weighing thirty pounds. Soon afterwards the 
seance was closed on account of the lateness of the hour." 

Three days later, in the same place, the following incident 
took place, which certainly is remarkable in character: 

"Suddenly Professors Morselli and Porro perceived that 
Eusapia had been raised, along with her chair, and carried 
up to a level above that of the surface of the table, upon 
which she redescended in such a way that her feet and the 
two front legs of the chair rested on the surface of the table, 
which was partially broken. Meanwhile the medium 
moaned, as if intensely frightened, and asked to be put back 
with her chair on the floor. But almost instantly she was 
carried up again with the chair, and this levitation 
lasted some seconds, so that M. de Albertis and Professor 
Porro, without preconcerted arrangement and with com- 
pletely simultaneous thought, succeeded in passing their 
hands under the feet of the medium and of the chair. Short- 
ly afterwards Eusapia, still seated, redescended on to the 
table ; she was held by those to right and left of her, the chair 
was pushed or thrown down backward on to the floor; and 
the medium, seized by several of those present, while still 
moaning was carried to the floor and seated again in her 
place." 

The above is taken from the report made at the time, and 
we are glad to confirm it by a few brief remarks from Pro- 
fessor Porro, in which this distinguished astronomer clearly 
expresses the impressions made on him by this incident. 
Referring to the levitation of Eusapia along with her chair, 
he writes : 

"It was a moment of great anxiety and amazement. The 
levitation was accomplished without blow or shaking, swift- 



Eusapia Palladino 137 

ly, but not by jerks. In other words, if one wished, by 
dint of supreme distrust, to imagine that this result had 
been obtained by artifice, one should have to suppose a 
pull from above (by means of a cord and a pulley) rather 
than a push from below. But neither of these hypotheses 
will stand the most elementary examination of the facts. 
Palladino was actually drawn up and sustained in a posi- 
tion absolutely contrary to static laws, by an invisible 
force, inexplicable in the present state of our knowledge 
of physics." 

Professor Lombroso, in his interesting book, After Death 
— What? (pp. 69-70), tells the following incident which 
occurred at one seance at which Professor Morselli was 
present. He says in part: 

"At the sitting of the 26th, Morselli having taken a place 
in the chain, Madame Palladino remarked suddenly that she 
perceived a young man who came from a distance, and, after 
being questioned, specified 'from Palermo'; and afterwards 
said 'portrait made in the sun.' Whereupon Massaro re- 
marked that he had in his letter-case a photograph of his 
son taken out-of-doors (in the country). At the same time 
he was aware of being sharply tapped on the breast at the 
very spot where he had that picture of his son, and felt him- 
self kissed twice on the right cheek through the curtain that 
hung near him; and the kisses were followed by very arch 
caresses, though most delicate withal. Then all of a sudden 
the significant touches were repeated, but this time by a hand 
that insinuated itself with eager movements into the inside 
pocket of the coat just where the letter-case was. This it 
opened just at the compartment that held the portrait. Dur- 
ing the second appearance caresses and kisses were held back 
at first; then he felt himself seized round the body, drawn 
near the curtain, and repeatedly kissed. Finally there was 
projected on the curtain the apparition of a head bound with 
a white bandage — a head which he recognized as that of his 
son." 



138 Eusapia Palladino 

The materializations generally seen at Eusapia's seances 
are those of heads and faces, and very rarely does the full 
form manifest — particularly of late years. Usually, also, 
the form is felt through the curtain, and it issues from be- 
hind their shelter and advances into the room but seldom. 
Nevertheless, the materializations are unmistakable. The 
hands and faces may be felt, and on more than one occasion 
they have been grasped and found to melt in the experi- 
menter's hands. These bodies, which appear to be real 
human beings, or at least parts of human beings, some- 
times show themselves directly, and have the consistency of 
flesh. Occasionally, also, the medium carries the sitters' 
hands to the materialized face, and allows them to touch 
it, both behind the curtain and when exposed. Dr. Ven- 
zano, M. Barzini, Professor Bottazzi, and others, have all 
asserted that these hands, if grasped, will melt away, as 
did the so-called spirit hands observed by Sir William 
Crookes, in the presence of D. D. Home. 

The following incidents are typical of the materializa- 
tions that occur in the presence of Eusapia. The first in- 
cident occurred in the same series of seances, at the Minerva 
Club, from which some of the previous incidents have been 
quoted, and is taken from Dr. Venzano's original report : 

"The Cavaliere Peretti having approached the curtain, 
he felt himself suddenly grasped by a hand which gently 
pressed his own. This hand, as everyone could see, came 
from the interior of the cabinet, keeping itself all the time 
covered by the curtain, and its form was distinctly recogniz- 
able under the curtain. This unexpected occurrence excited 
the curiosity of those present, who, in turn, offered their 
hands and received in the same way an affectionate pressure. 
Professor Morselli, for the second time, and M. Ferraro, 
who until then had stood apart, put forward their hands at the 



Eusapia Palladino 139 

same moment, but the desired phenomenon was not pro- 
duced again. Dr. Venzano and M. Schmolz, who had ap- 
proached the medium while the phenomenon was being re- 
peated, were able, while the curtain swelled out, to turn 
their attention to the interior of the cabinet, which was en- 
tirely empty, except for the chair and the lump of clay, while 
outside could be seen the relief, formed in the texture of 
the curtain, of the hand which grasped those of the sitters." 

At a later series, held in July, 1905, at the house of 
M. Berisso, the following incident occurred, and is reported 
by M. Berisso thus: 

"At a certain moment, within the cabinet, in which a 
bottle full of water and a glass had been placed on a chair, 
a noise was heard, evidently caused by these objects being 
knocked against each other. Shortly afterwards we heard 
the sound of water being poured from the bottle into the 
tumbler, and almost at once the curtain was shaken and 
a hand covered by the curtain placed the glass of water on 
the table in front of Mme. Palladino. Meanwhile the left 
hand of Dr. Venzano and the right hand of Mme. Berisso 
were distinctly seen on the table, holding the hands of the 
medium. As soon as the glass had been placed on the table, 
Eusapia expressed a desire to drink. We did not think it 
advisable to let her do so, knowing by long experience that 
this might result in nausea and vomiting. She persisted in 
her request and we still refused it. 

"Eusapia became nervous and excited. Suddenly the right 
side of the curtain swelled out and partly covered the fore- 
arm of the medium, which was controlled by Dr. Venzano. 
Shortly afterwards my wife, Dr. Venzano, and I distinctly 
saw a hand and an arm covered by a dark sleeve issue from 
the front and upper part of the right shoulder of the me- 
dium. This arm, making its way above the free end of the 
side of the curtain which was on the table, seized the glass 
and carried it to Eusapia's mouth ; she leaned back and drank 
eagerly. After that the arm replaced the glass on the table, 



[140 Eusapia Palladino 

and we saw it withdraw rapidly and disappear as if it 
returned into the shoulder from which we had seen it 
issue. 

"Dr. Venzano, who did not let the smallest detail of this 
phenomenon escape him, asked the sitters whether they also 
had seen the arm, which seized the glass, issue from Eusapia's 
shoulder. My wife and I confirmed this fact. M. Bozzano, 
who sat at the end of the table opposite to that at which 
the medium was seated, affirmed that, for his part, he had 
seen a black mass detach itself from Eusapia's shoulder, and 
shortly afterwards advance under the side of the curtain 
lying on the table ; the arm ended in a hand of living flesh 
which seized the glass; he was at once seized with the con- 
viction that this was a case of a double, and he was about 
to communicate this impression to those present, when he 
was prevented by the exclamation of Dr. Venzano. Mile. 
Venzano and Dr. Gellona, on account of the position which 
they occupied, were not able to observe the first part of this 
phenomenon. It should be noted that during the period of 
the production of the whole of this phenomenon, Eusapia's 
hands were under control and did not cease for a single 
moment to rest on the table, visible to everybody." 

The next report is taken from a seance which occurred on 
the evening of December 27, 1901, in the rooms of the Miner- 
va Club. I quote from the report: 

"At this moment there were fresh and repeated appear- 
ances of a child's hand, previously mentioned, above the 
head of Eusapia. It was a little hand, evidently a right 
hand of the color of pink flesh, with tiny fingers, somewhat 
long and thin, which might belong to a child of seven years 
old. These appearances were so numerous that it was im- 
possible to count them. The little hand sometimes showed 
the palm, sometimes the back. At times it was seen with 
the tips of the fingers upward, at other times with the tips 
pointing downward, and it often moved with a gesture of 
salutation. Sometimes it remained visible for a very short 



Eusapia Palladino 141 

time, sometimes for about ten seconds. Dr. Venzano and 
M. Vassallo, who was seated on his left, got up, and with- 
out breaking the chain of the control, they bent toward the 
curtain, so that they were able to observe it at a distance of 
a few inches only. Dr. Venzano expressed a desire to be 
touched by it. and almost at once the little hand approached, 
with its ringers in front, and stroked his cheeks repeatedly, 
so that the doctor felt the warm touch. At a certain mo- 
ment, the little hand seized his nose and two fingers pulled 
it gently, then took the lobe of his right ear and pressed it 
with a certain amount of force. 

''The medium was awakened. The little hand retired, 
and after a few moments it reappeared with another little 
hand, the latter being certainly a left hand. As they ap- 
peared, the two hands parted the curtains, then disappeared 
and reappeared several times. The phenomena ceased for 
about a minute, during which M. Vassallo and Dr. Venzano 
sat down again. Suddenly, while the medium continued 
awake, and kept her hands, visible to everyone, on the table 
and under strict control on the part of those sitting next 
to her, on the right and left, the curtain swelled out. and a 
hand much greater in bulk and in dimensions than that of Eu- 
sapia, and at the same level as the small hands previously 
described, came out of the opening between the two cur- 
tains, seized the head of the medium and drew it violently 
backward. The medium alarmed, tried to free herself, and 
began to cry out for help to the sitters. But the hand did 
not let go of her head and continued to drag it forcibly 
backward, as if to earn- it into the cabinet. At a certain 
moment the hand withdrew but it reappeared almost at 
once, along with another hand. The two hands, like the 
former ones, by the disposition of their thumbs, were mani- 
festly right and left hands and by the identity of their char- 
acters seemed to belong to the same person, this time 
apparently a man. While Alme. Palladino cried out and pro- 
tested, they seized her on both sides of her head, and con- 
tinued to drag it backward so that it twice disappeared into 
the cabinet and was covered by the curtain." 



[142 Eusapia Palladino 

The following incidents are related by M. Arnaldo Vas- 
sallo, in his work, Nel Mondo delgi Invisibili. The seances 
took place in the rooms of the Minerva Club, in December, 
1 90 1. The report reads: 

"When the room had been darkened, M. Vassallo felt 
himself seized from behind by two arms, which embraced 
him affectionately, while two hands with long, thin fingers 
pressed and caressed his head. Meanwhile a head, ap- 
parently belonging to a young person, approached his face 
and kissed him repeatedly, so that those present could dis- 
tinctly hear the sound of the kisses. While the phenomenon 
was being produced, the head of Eusapia, who was com- 
pletely entranced, rested on the right shoulder of Mme. 
Ramorino. 

"M. Vassallo asked the name of the entity who manifested, 
and at once the table began to move, and gave by typtology 
the word: Romano. M. Vassallo then remarked that this 
was one of the three names of his only son, usually called 
Naldino, whom he had lost a few years before, when he was 
barely seventeen years of age. He added that this name was 
unknown even by some of his near relatives. 

"He continued his interrogations. Having asked for a 
proof of identity, a finger passed inside his jacket and rested 
against his inner pocket, in which, said M. Vassallo, there 
was a pocketbook containing the portrait of his son. 

"M. Vassallo persisted in asking for more complete evi- 
dence and, if it were possible, a visible manifestation. The 
table replied affirmatively, and by typtology asked that semi- 
darkness might be made, which was done by placing a 
lighted candle on the floor of the anteroom adjoining. In 
this way a very feeble light was produced, but sufficient to 
make it possible to distinguish the faces of Mme. Palladino 
and the experimenters. Eusapia, still in a state of profound 
trance, kept her head, as before, resting on Mme. Ramorino's 
shoulder. Suddenly, Dr. Venzano, who was seated almost 
opposite to Mme. Ramorino, saw a vaporous mass rise be- 
tween her and Eusapia ; it was of an oblong form, gradually 



Eusapia Palladino 143 

condensing at the top into a pear-shaped formation of the 
size of a human head, on which appeared successively a very- 
abundant growth of hair, and the eyes, nose, and mouth of 
a human face. Dr. Venzano, in order to assure himself of 
the phenomenon, got up, and was about to communicate 
his impressions, when Cavaliere Erba and Professor Porro, 
who were beside Mme. Ramorino, exclaimed at the same 
time: 'A profile, a profile!' M. Vassallo, who, in expecta- 
tion of the apparition of a materialized form, was looking 
toward the back of the room, which, on account of the light 
coming from the anteroom, was somewhat better illumi- 
nated, turned toward the cabinet and was also able to see the 
head, which advanced repeatedly over the table in his di- 
rection, and then dissolved. The small white electric lamp 
was lit up. Dr. Venzano traced with a pencil on a piece of 
paper a sketch representing the form he had seen, and at 
the same time M. Vassallo, who was very clever at drawing, 
reproduced with much accuracy the head in profile of his 
lost son. Then he showed the photograph in his pocket- 
book to those present. The points of resemblance between 
the face which appeared, and the sketches drawn by M. Vas- 
sallo, and Dr. Venzano and the portrait in M. Varsallo's 
possession were then recognized with lively surprise. In 
fact, the outlines of the head, and its pear-shaped aspect, 
produced by the very abundant hair above the oval face with 
the thinness of youth, corresponded marvelously. M. Ramor- 
ino, from his position behind Dr. Venzano, and M. Vassallo, 
both standing, and consequently shutting out his view, de- 
clared that he had not seen the apparition ; also Mme. Ra- 
morino, seated somewhat on one side, and in front of the 
apparition, said she had not observed it either." 

The second incident is also remarkably interesting. M. Vas- 
sallo, after being touched several times by a hand, and his scarf 
pin having been gently removed by it, felt himself suddenly 
seized under the armpits by two hands which lifted him up, 
obliged him to stand upright, and drew him about two paces 



144 Eusapia Palladino 

from the circle and behind his own chair. That is to say, 
more than a yard away from the medium. Under these cir- 
cumstances, M. Vassallo, in order not to lose the hand of the 
medium, passed it from his right hand into his own left 
hand, in contact with that of Dr. Venzano — so that Eusa- 
pia, remaining motionless, was under the vigilant observa- 
tion of three controllers. 

"Then M. Vassallo felt a human body, of about his own 
height, leaning on his left shoulder, and a face, which, in his 
opinion, had the character of the deceased Naldino, remained 
for sometime pressed against his face. He then received re- 
peated kisses, the sound of which everyone could hear; and 
meanwhile, broken sentences were heard, uttered in a soft 
voice, which replied to the repeated questions of M. Vas- 
sallo. Dr. Venzano, getting up without abandoning the 
control, advanced in the direction of the voice, and suc- 
ceeded in hearing several words pronounced in the Genoese 
dialect, among which were the words: 'Garo Papa/ The 
conversation between M. Vassallo and the entity lasted for 
sometime, until after the sound of a kiss, Dr. Venzano suc- 
ceeded in catching this sentence: ( Questo e per la mamma.' 
(This for mamma.) 

"Almost at once the materialized form disappeared, and 
the table requested, by raps, that the light might be raised. 
As soon as the white electric light had been lit, there was 
seen advancing toward M. Vassallo, who was still standing 
up, a human form enveloped in the curtain of the cabinet, 
which embraced him, while a hand, also covered by the cur- 
tain, seized that of M. Vassallo and held it for sometime. 

"The medium remained all the time motionless in the 
chair, her hands in contact with those of the controllers." 

The next incident is quoted from the minutes of the sit- 
ting which took place in the rooms of the Minerva Club, 
on the evening of December 29, 1900, in the presence of 




Mme. Eusapia Palladino seated at our Seance table, in Italy. 
Behind her are seen the black curtains of the cabinet: to her right, 
the locked door leading to Mr. Baggally*s room. Directly in front 
of her is the Seance table, and beneath it is the small stool ; referred 
to on several occasions. 



Eusapia Palladino 145 

Professors Morselli, Porro, and other eminent investigators. 
The account reads in part as follows: 

"Suddenly, Dr. Venzano, who held the medium with his 
left hand, she resting her head, visible to all, on the shoulder 
of Professor Porro, saw forming to his left, at about a hand's 
breadth from his face, as it were a globular, vaporous, whitish 
mass, which condensed into a more decided form, that of an 
oval, which gradually assumed the aspect of a human head, 
of which the nose, the eyes, the mustache, and the pointed 
beard could be distinctly recognized. This form came and 
touched his face, and he felt a warm and living forehead 
press against his own and remain there for a second or two. 
Then he felt the contact of the whole profile of the face 
against his own, with a pressure as of a caress, then the im- 
print of a kiss, after which the mass seemed to vanish into 
vapor near the curtains. The other sitters, meanwhile, were 
only aware of a vague luminosity in the direction of Dr. 
Venzano; but they distinctly perceived the sound of the kiss." 

Dr. Venzano asserts that the vaporous mass which con- 
densed into the form of a human face came into direct con- 
tact with his own face, shutting out his sight of surrounding 
objects, but furnishing forcible evidence through tactual 
sensation. He recognized in the face an extraordinary re- 
semblance to a very near relative whom he had lost some 
years before. This relative had not been known in life either 
to Eusapia or to any of the sitters present at the seance. 

The next account is one of great interest, and is taken 
from Dr. Bozzano's book, Ipotesi Spiritica e Theoriche 
Scientifiche. The seance occurred in the dwelling of M. 
Avellino, June 16, 1901. The seance is recorded by M. 
Bozzano, as follows: 

"To my left and a little more than a yard away there 
was a small door, through the opening of which a faint light 



146 Eusapia Palladino 

penetrated. Suddenly the hands of 'John/ laying hold of 
my temples, forced me to turn my head in that direction. 
I understood that the action was done with a purpose, and 
I redoubled my care of observation. Very soon I noticed, 
low down, something like a kind of black cone with uncer- 
tain, smoky, and changing outlines. It seemed as if this little 
mass gradually condensing in front of me were animated, 
or rather convulsed with a rapid rotary motion. It rapidly 
increased in size and length until, in a few moments, it 
attained the height and size of a man. Then, in less time 
than I can tell it, I was aware that this form had assumed 
the aspect and profile of a human being. This form was 
not more than two paces from me. My companions all 
noticed that the light from the doorway was unexpectedly 
and almost entirely obscured. Our sensations therefore coin- 
cided and supplemented each other. 

"Mme. Palladino at this point raised my hand and carried 
it in the direction of the form. Immediately two other 
hands took possession of mine, and carried it upward. I 
then felt a soft, long beard, which passed and repassed over 
the back of my hand, causing a tingling sensation. After 
this my fingers were caused to pass over the features of a 
face. / was thus able to assure myself that the face was not 
that of 'John' Eusapia then pulled my hand sharply toward 
herself. A moment afterwards the same figure began to 
advance behind my back; at the same time the gleam from 
the doorway reappeared. 

"Almost immediately Dr. Venzano announced that a hand 
had taken possession of his own, and was drawing it upward. 
Soon afterwards we all heard the sound of a sonorous kiss 
above his head. And now the same very fine and long beard 
began to brush over the back of his hand, passing backward 
and forward. The impression felt by Dr. Venzano was suf- 
ficiently distinct to enable him to declare that this beard 
was shaped to a point. Then he was made to feel the hol- 
low of a mouth, the upper jaw of which had some teeth 
wanting on the right side. 

"At this point Dr. Venzano remarked that these signs 



Eusapia Palladino 147 

corresponded exactly with the characteristics of a very near 
relative, deceased." 

To this account by Dr. Bozzano, Dr. Venzano adds some 
notes of his own. He says: 

"When my hand, guided by another hand, and lifted up- 
ward, met the materialized form, I had immediately the 
impression of touching a broad forehead, on the upper part 
of which was a quantity of rather long, thick, and very 
fine hair. Then, as my hand was gradually led upward, it 
came in contact with a slightly aquiline nose, and, lower 
still, with mustaches and a chin with a peaked beard. From 
the chin, the hand was then raised somewhat, until, coming 
in front of the open mouth, it was gently pushed forward, 
and my forefinger, still directed by the guiding hand, en- 
tered the cavity of the mouth, where it was caused to rub 
against the margin of an upper dental arch, which, toward 
the right extremity, was wanting in four molar teeth. 

"It should be mentioned that when my hand came in con- 
tact successively with the lock of hair on the forehead, the 
nose, and the chin with the pointed beard, the other hand 
which guided it pressed upon it and caused it to stop at each 
with manifest purpose, as though each of these points repre- 
sented a special sign. I must note, also, that on comparing 
the indications obtained with those typical of a person who 
was very dear to me, I did not remember whether the four 
molars were absent on the right or left side, and that later, 
after making special inquiries in the family, I was able to 
ascertain that this defect exactly corresponded with the con- 
ditions presented by the materialized form. 

"In the present case, the problem of seeking for the will 
which directs the phenomena is of very great complexity. 
It must be remembered that, in the execution of this mani- 
festation, two materialized forms took part. This fact be- 
comes evident since, without the control of the medium be- 
ing in any way relaxed, two large hands, which were not 
his own, seized M. Bozzano's head and forced him to turn 
toward the far end of the room, which was dimly lighted, 



148 Eusapia Palladino 

where a second materialized form developed, having the ap- 
pearance of a complete figure of a man. 

"As for the materialized form which presented itself to 
my direct observation, offering the tokens typical of a de- 
ceased person, who was dear to me, I can affirm that it was 
neither thought of nor expected by me. Moreover, as I at 
once declared, when I did first think of it, I certainly did 
not ask for proofs of identity such as were offered me. Then, 
too, among the tokens by which the materialization revealed 
its identity, it chose one which was only imperfectly known 
to me, and the accuracy of which I could only ascertain 
after making inquiries among my family. Nor could I have 
been influenced by an impression received from what had 
occurred just before to M. Bozzano. He had simply men- 
tioned that his hand had been carried into contact with a 
human face, with a pointed beard — a fact which had been 
previously mentioned at sittings, and was insufficient to af- 
ford precise data for the identification of a face. Thus the 
possibility is excluded of direct suggestion conveyed to Mme. 
Palladino from myself or from the other sitters — to whom, 
as to the medium herself, the person who manifested himself 
to me was entirely unknown. 

"As to the medium, who remained during the whole 
seance in a state of profound trance, the only act of hers 
which might be suspected of being done with a purpose was 
that of raising M. Bozzano's hand to touch the human face, 
on which he recognized nothing characteristic except the 
pointed beard. 

"In the face of these conditions what conclusions can 
one deduce ? In this case the dilemma referred to in relation 
to the previous case repeats itself. Either the phenomenon 
is produced under the direction of an intelligence foreign to 
the medium and to the experimenters, or the subconscious- 
ness of Palladino succeeded in bringing forth from the in- 
nermost recesses of my thought details known only by 
myself and followed up this work of mind-reading by a lib- 
eration of physiopsychic energy which assumed the form and 
the character of two human beings, one of whom bore the 



Eusapia Palladino 149 

typical traits of a deceased person with whom I was very 
familiar during his lifetime. And not only was the sub- 
consciousness of the medium able to reveal facts which I 
could clearly remember but also circumstances which I had 
doubtless known of in the past, but which I had in large 
measure forgotten at the moment when the phenomenon 
occurred. I allude particularly to the number and position 
of the teeth found wanting at the extremity of the upper 
jaw of the mouth of the face, a point on which, as I after- 
wards found, the Intelligence regulating the manifestation 
was much better informed than I." 

The last seance here quoted is that originally published 
in the Revue d 'Etudes PsychiqueSj in September, 1902. 
Professors Morselli, Bozzano, and a number of noted ladies 
and gentlemen were present. The sitting was held in the 
house of the Avellino family. The cabinet was of the usual 
simple kind — two black curtains stretched across one corner 
of the room. Before the seance, Mme. Palladino was care- 
fully searched by two ladies present, and nothing un- 
usual discovered upon her person. 

Eusapia was then bound to a small camp bed by means 
of ropes. Her wrists were fastened to the iron bars at the 
side; next, her waist was fastened likewise, and lastly her 
feet and ankles. Professor Morselli executed the tying him- 
self, and fastened the cords in a number of knots in every 
case. All felt that the tying was perfectly secure, and all 
that could be desired. 

Places were resumed in the circle, and the table soon be- 
gan to move about of its own accord. Then the curtains 
of the cabinet were gently parted, and the head and shoulders 
of a young woman emerged. She bowed several times, and 
ended by blowing a kiss to the company — which was heard 
by all present. 



150 Eusapia Palladino 

The face of a man, with large head and strong shoulders, 
then made its appearance between the curtains. It was en- 
veloped in white drapery, but the rosy tint of its skin could 
be distinctly seen, and a black beard was visible also. It 
remained visible about a minute, then disappeared behind the 
cabinet curtains. 

At this juncture the medium began calling out plaintive- 
ly that the ropes were hurting her, and Professor Morselli, 
going into the cabinet, found her securely tied as at first. 
He unfastened her wrists, leaving her still tied by the waist 
and ankles, and resumed his seat. 

Several forms then issued from the cabinet, in turn; but 
soon plaintive cries were again heard from the cabinet; and 
Professor Morselli, entering at Eusapia's request, found that 
the medium had been tied afresh, at the wrists, and fastened 
to the two side boards of the bed, by means of many turns 
of cord, which terminated in knots much more numerous 
and tighter than those which were made by Professor Mor- 
selli at the beginning of the seance. 

She was again untied and several more forms issued from 
the cabinet — one that of a young woman carrying a child, 
which repeatedly kissed her. Finally, it became necessary 
to untie the medium, on account of her increasing complaints. 
Her breathing was difficult, and her pulse rapid and strong. 
She appeared to be tired and suffering. It is of interest to 
note in this connection that the form carrying the child was 
recognized to be the host's grandmother. She wore a pecu- 
liar lace cap, characteristic of her in life. 

One of the most remarkable and striking peculiarities of 
the seance was that the forms remained visible for some 
considerable time in bright gaslight — light sufficiently good, 
as Professor Morselli ascertained, to read a newspaper by. 



Eusapia Palladino 151 

This seems to show us that, when the medium is genuine 
and the force is strong, no reasonable amount of light will 
impede the manifestations. 

Commenting on these seances, Dr. Venzano comes to the 
conclusion that the spiritistic hypothesis is the only one 
capable of explaining the facts in a reasonable way. He 
says : 

"In the greater number of the materialized forms per- 
ceived by us either by sight, contact, or hearing, we were 
able to recognize points of resemblance to deceased persons, 
generally our relatives, unknown to the medium and known 
only to those present who were concerned with the phe- 
nomena." 



CHAPTER IV 

PERSONAL EXPERIMENTS WITH EUSAPIA NAPLES, I908 

Bearing in mind the results of previous investigators — 
particularly the reports more recently issued by eminent 
scientific men in Europe, it became imperative for the Society 
for Psychical Research, in spite of the past negative results 
of the Cambridge experiments, to reconsider the question of 
Eusapia's mediumship. The decision was reached in the 
following way: 

In October and November of 1908, I found myself in 
London on other business, and while discussing with Miss 
Alice Johnson various matters connected with the work of 
the S. P. R., and my desire to hold seances with Eusapia 
Palladino, she suggested that it might be desirable for me 
to go for the English Society, and render them a report of 
the phenomena observed. I acquiesced in this, and said I 
should be glad to go, if the matter could be arranged. The 
Hon. Everard Feilding — second son of Lord Denbigh — 
Hon. Secretary of the Society, who had previously obtained 
seances with Eusapia in Paris, said that he would be glad 
to go also, and share in the investigation. The matter hav- 
ing been decided, we left London on different days, traveled 
by different routes, and met in Naples on the afternoon of 
November 19, 1908. 

At the conclusion of the second seance, we were so im- 
pressed by the phenomena we had observed that we wired to 
England, giving the officials of the S. P. R. a brief account 



Eusapia Palladino 153 

of the phenomena witnessed, and asking for additional help, 
in order the more successfully to control the medium. We 
had hoped that either Mr. Podmore or Miss Alice Johnson 
would be able to come, but in this we were disappointed, 
neither of them being able to leave London at the time, but 
we were joined after the fourth seance by Mr. W. W. 
Baggally — a member of the Council of the English S. P. R., 
who is himself an expert conjurer, and thoroughly well ac- 
quainted not only with the past history of all the important 
mediums since Home, but with their methods of trickery. 
And just here let me give a brief sketch of the personnel of 
the three investigators {i.e., the two gentlemen above men- 
tioned and myself) who formed the committee of inquiry 
for these seances. 

Mr. Baggally, as I have said, is himself an amateur con- 
jurer and is exceptionally well posted on all the tricks and 
devices resorted to by fraudulent mediums. Most of them 
he can perform himself. He has been constantly investi- 
gating the subject for more than thirty-five years, and dur- 
ing all this time he had never witnessed a single genuine 
physical phenomenon — with the exception, perhaps, of a few 
occurring at a previous seance of Eusapia's which he had at- 
tended some years before. Throughout his investigations, 
he had invariably detected fraud and nothing but fraud. I 
think it is safe to say, therefore, that a man of his caliber, 
armed as he was with this past knowledge of medium's his- 
tories, and their methods, would not be likely to be taken in 
by a few simple tricks, such as the substitution of hands or 
feet, which Eusapia occasionally practises ! 

Mr. Feilding, in his position of Honorary Secretary for 
the Society, is constantly investigating cases of all kinds, and 
delights especially in running down cases of poltergeists, 



154 Eusapia Palladino 

physical phenomena, etc. He has an excellent and keen judg- 
ment in all such investigations. He has been engaged in this 
work on and off for some ten years, but during all that time 
he had never seen one physical phenomenon which appeared 
to him to be conclusively proved — with the exception, per- 
haps, of certain phenomena which, again, had occurred in 
Eusapia's presence, at a previous seance attended by him 
in Paris. We may well suppose, therefore, that Mr. Feild- 
ing, also, was quite enabled to detect fraud, had such existed, 
and was not at all likely to be taken in by the simple process 
of substitution which he, in common with all of us, well 
knew existed. 

As for myself, I can but say that, during ten years con- 
tinued investigations of the physical phenomena of spirit- 
ualism, during which period I have sat many score, if not 
hundreds of times, with mediums, and traveled many hun- 
dreds of miles in order to see genuine physical phenomena, 
if such existed — I had invariably been disappointed, and un- 
til I had attended my first seance with Eusapia, had never 
seen one single manifestation of the physical order which 
I could consider genuine. On the contrary, I had always 
detected fraud, and, being an amateur conjurer myself, was 
enabled in nearly every instance to detect the modus operandi 
of the trick, usually the first time I saw it. In my Physical 
Phenomena of Spiritualism., I devoted more than three hun- 
dred pages to the psychology of deception, and to a detailed 
exposure of the tricks and devices of fraudulent medium- 
ship. 1 

1 In reviewing my book for the Proceedings of the English S. P. R., Count 
Perovsky-Petrovo-Solovovo said: 

"Mr. Carrington seems to have quite an extraordinary knowledge of conjuring 
and pseudo-mediumistic tricks, and throughout the four hundred pages of his 
book he almost unceasingly opens up in this direction such vistas, that the 



Eusapia Palladino 155 

Taking it all in all, therefore, we felt that our committee 
— composed as it was of skeptical investigators — and of 
skeptics, moreover, who were particularly qualified to ex- 
pose trickery of the nature usually practised — we felt that, 
if trickery were practised to any great extent, we should de- 
tect it; and I think the detailed reports of our sittings will 
indicate that we took all due precautions to guard against 
substitution of hands and of feet, and to convince, not only 
ourselves, but the outside world also, that her hands and 
feet were not at liberty during the production of these phe- 
nomena, and that they were not produced by any normal 
means. This, however, the reader must judge for himself, 
when he comes to the records of the seances. 

It will be obvious to the careful student of the preceding 
records that there are two fundamentally weak points, which, 
in spite of the evidential value of some of the sittings, must 
be said to weaken them tremendously in the eyes of the pub- 
lic. It is improbable that any seances will be held in the 
future more striking than some of those already held, and 
yet, in spite of their tremendously strong character, it is 
certain that they have failed to carry conviction to all care- 
ful students of the reports — though I feel they should have 
done so — largely because of these two weak points. They 
are ( I ) that the amount of light, on any one occasion, was 
not as a rule specifically stated; and (2) the exact position 
of each hand and each foot of the medium was not fully ac- 
counted for, when any special phenomenon took place. Thus, 
it is quite inadequate to say that "the medium was securely 

uninitiated reader's breath is simply taken away. ... As an exposer of con- 
juring and ■"mediumistic' devices he in my opinion stands unsurpassed, and 
there can be no doubt that his volume has dealt professional mediumship a most 
sensible, I should perhaps say a crushing, blow." 



156 Eusapia Palladino 

held," or that "there was no possibility of trickery" on any 
special occasion — when remarkable phenomena were in 
progress. We want to know just how and where each hand 
and each foot was during that crucial moment; who was 
holding it, and how. In other words, as I have pointed out 
before, we do not want the investigator's opinion that such 
and such a phenomenon was genuine ; we want the facts and 
the data which will allow us to form our own opinions as 
to whether the normal production of the phenomenon was pos- 
sible or not. It is inconclusive to say that an object "at some 
distance from the medium" moved of its own accord. What 
we want to know is exactly how many feet and inches away 
the object was; and, having these facts before us, we should 
be in a position to know or judge whether it was impossible 
for the object to have been moved or not. This judgment 
may be wrong. We may conclude that it was possible for 
the medium to have moved the object, whereas, as a matter 
of fact, it was not possible, and this might have been obvious 
to the members of the circle. But so long as the printed 
evidence does not prove its impossibility, the skeptical world 
will never be convinced. I have no doubt whatever that 
every impartial investigator, who sits with Eusapia, becomes 
convinced of the reality of at least some of the phenomena; 
but all the world cannot obtain personal sittings. They 
must judge by the printed reports; and so long as that is 
the case, the reports of the sittings must be made to read 
convincingly. And in order to read convincingly, it is neces- 
sary, first and foremost, to have a strict account of the exact 
position of each hand and foot of Eusapia, during each 
minute of the seance — certainly at the moment when any 
important occurrence is happening. Such a record can only 
be made by keeping an exact stenographic account of the 



Eusapia Palladino 157 

position of the hands and feet ; and this must be made during 
the sitting — while it is actually in progress — and it is useless 
for evidential purposes to attempt this account after the 
seance has terminated. A precise contemporary record is 
therefore necessary — giving these exact details from moment 
to moment. 

Feeling the force of these arguments strongly, then, we 
determined that our seances should not be vitiated by the 
same weaknesses that had impaired those of our predecessors 
in this field, and we accordingly organized our control, and 
the manner of dictating it. We arranged a series of lights 
of varying intensities, in the center of the room, and de- 
scribed exactly what we could see in each case. This will 
be found described in detail in the sittings. We also dic- 
tated to the stenographer, sitting at another table, the exact 
position of each hand and each foot during the production of 
every phenomenon. 1 This will also be found in the record of 
sittings. It will be seen that this method of accounting for 
each hand and each foot precluded all possibility of decep- 
tion ; since, if both hands and both feet are accounted for, 
it is obvious that the medium could not have produced any 
of the observed phenomena — unless some third hand pro- 
duced them — or some means equally supernormal. 

Our own seances at Naples were held in the middle room 
of our suite at the Hotel Victoria. The three members of 
the committee occupied three adjoining rooms — Mr. Baggally 
the one on the extreme left, Mr. Feilding the one in the 
middle, myself the room on the extreme right. These three 
rooms were all connected by double doors, which were usually 

1 The extracts that follow are all drawn from our official Report on Eusapia 
Palladino's mediumship, which appeared in., the Proceedings of the English 
Society for Psychical Research, Vol. XXIII, Part LIX. 



158 Eusapia Palladino 

left open, but were closed during the seance. All these 
doors, particularly those leading into the public hall, were 
securely locked and bolted before each seance, and we tied 
the door handles together by means of white tape, when the 
doors could not be bolted from the inside. The windows, 
one in each room, led on to a small balcony, which looked 
on to the street, five flights below. These small balconies 
were not connected, and it would have been an utter im- 
possibility for anyone to have climbed from one room to 
another, and so into the seance room through the window. 
The windows were, moreover, closed, bolted, and shuttered. 
I need scarcely add that we made a careful examination of 
the cabinet, the instruments, the table, and seance room 
before and after each sitting. The instruments used 
were in all cases our own, bought by us at various shops 
in Naples. 

We constructed a cabinet by hanging two light, black 
curtains across one corner of the room, forming a triangular 
space about three feet deep — the curtains extending up seven 
or eight feet from the floor. Directly in front of the open- 
ing in the curtains we placed Eusapia's chair, and again in 
front of her, the seance table. The controllers occupied 
positions on either side of the table, as close to Eusapia as 
possible. 

The walls and the floor of the seance room were of stone 
and plaster, no wood being used in their construction. This 
caused us some annoyance, since when, later on, we desired 
to fasten the small table to the floor by means of staples, 
we found it extremely difficult to do so, and had to drive 
these into the woodwork, on the one hand, of the door lead- 
ing from one room into the other, and on the other side, 
into the window frame! 



Eusapia Palladino 



159 



SEANCE" TABLE 



WINDOW 



B'5 ROOM. 



C J s Room 




5TENOGRAPHE«& 
ABLE 



DOOR 

EP. — EoiAPiAi Position 
A B — CoriTROlXBRS . 



And now as to the control of Eusapia's hands and feet. 
It is obvious that it is desirable to encircle the whole of the 
medium's hands, whenever possible, and it is hard for the 
absent critic to see why this should not be done. Before 
we had our own seances, we could not see why previous 
sitters had not insisted on this more strongly than they ap- 
peared to have done. The fact of the matter is that Eusapia 
herself has a good deal to say as to the manner fn which her 
hands shall be held, and her feet also. We do not mean 
by this that she always insists on her hands being held in 



160 Eusapia Palladino 

such a manner that substitution is thereby rendered possible, 
for she would allow one of her hands to be held in her lap 
and the other on the table. She does, however, frequently 
object to a complete and rigid encircling of her hands by 
those of the sitter, and, in reply to our protest, explained to 
us first, that if the hands of the sitter are moist or clammy, 
she cannot bear them to touch her during the trance state — 
though she does not particularly object to this when she is 
normal, and secondly that the backs of both her hands, and 
the insteps of both her feet (especially the left hand and 
left foot) become extremely hyperaesthetic during the condi- 
tion of semitrance when the slightest pressure occasions her 
acute discomfort. We have frequently seen Eusapia wince 
under a pressure of the hand that would not affect her in 
the least in the normal state ; and we came ultimately to the 
conclusion that this hyperesthesia is genuine, and is not mere 
affectation, for the purpose of getting the hand free to pro- 
duce phenomena. One may hold the hand and wrist as 
firmly as one likes, provided the tender spots are not touched, 
and she does not object in the least. It is for this reason, 
therefore, that the entire hand of Eusapia is not completely 
encircled by the hands of the controllers more often than 
it is; but the control is generally quite as good as if it were — 
while, when her two hands are situated far from one ar- 
other, on different corners of the table, or one on the table 
and the other in her lap, it must obviously be regarded as 
quite secure. 

We may state, then, that, save on a few occasions, which 
will be found described fully in the shorthand notes, the con- 
trol of the medium's hands and feet (and particularly of her 
hands) was a far easier matter than we had anticipated. 
During the greater part of many of the sittings, there was 



Eusapia Palladino 161 

so much light that we could clearly see both her hands on 
the table before us; and as at such times it was perfectly 
easy to follow every movement of them, we ourselves should 
have been content not to hold them at all. But for the sake 
of the public, and in order to be able to say that we had 
done so, we carefully controlled each hand, nevertheless, and 
recorded this control, as will be found in the notes. When 
it is light enough to see both the medium's hands on the 
table in front of you, it is useless and childish to talk of sub- 
stitution — it would be just as obvious as a substitution prac- 
ticed by a friend in the course of ordinary conversation. And 
all the best phenomena during the first two seances took 
place in a light sufficiently good to see clearly every move- 
ment of the medium, and not only that, to see the very tex- 
ture of the skin of her hands, the color of her finger nails, 
etc. Under such circumstances it would be absurd, we felt, 
to talk of substitution, which only becomes possible when 
the light had been so far lowered that the hands became in- 
visible to us. Throughout our sittings this very rarely hap- 
pened. All our best phenomena took place in what might 
be called good light — light sufficiently good, that is, to enable 
us to see the whole of the medium's body, and to see that 
she did not produce the movements herself. 

Even when Eusapia's hands rested on ours, it was an easy 
matter, as a rule, to feel which hand was on ours. Except 
when Eusapia was preparing to effect a substitution of hands 
(at which times her control became very furtive and un- 
certain), her hands rested on ours quietly throughout; and we 
could feel, from the relative position of the thumb and 
fingers, which hand we were holding. When the controlling 
hand slipped down so that only a portion of the hand would 
be felt (e.g., only the fingers), then we would immediately 



1 62 Eusapia Palladino 

move our hand about in such a way that Eusapia was forced 
to cover our hand with the whole of hers. This served the 
double purpose of showing us which hand we were holding, 
and also of proving that the hand covering ours was a real 
hand of flesh and blood, and not a mere dummy. When we 
moved our hands in this manner, calling for completer con- 
trol, the hand covering ours would invariably and at once 
react in a perfectly natural manner; would grip our hand, 
move the ringers, change its position, etc., as only a natural 
hand could do. Moreover, the hand was warm and life- 
like, and we could feel the texture of the skin. At no time 
was there the slightest doubt in our minds that the hand 
we were holding was really a human hand; the only objec- 
tion was that we were not always holding enough of the hand. 
The portion that we were holding was doubtless the hand of 
Eusapia. 

I should like to dwell upon this point at some length, 
for the reason that, in some of our experiments, phenomena 
took place when both hands and both feet were certainly 
accounted for and stated as being held securely. Such being 
the case, it becomes obvious that the phenomena must be 
accepted as genuine, unless she managed to substitute a dum- 
my hand for one of her own that we were holding. To us, 
the suggestion appears absurd, and we are absolutely posi- 
tive that nothing of the sort took place, but it is necessary 
to state the precautions we took at the time to ascertain that 
they were really flesh and blood hands we were holding, so 
that these precautions might be stated in the report. 

In the first place, then, we had the testimony of our eyes, 
for, as we have repeatedly pointed out, during the greater 
part of almost every seance, it was quite light enough for 
us to see that the hands we were holding were really Eusa- 



Eusapia Palladino 163 

pia's, and were connected with her body. This only became 
questionable when the light was so far reduced as to render 
this direct observation impossible — a very small fraction of 
the time. On such occasions, we traced the connection of 
the hand we were holding with the medium's body, and found 
that it invariably joined her body at the shoulder. We also 
moved the hand about to see if there was any resistance such 
as would be offered by the arm, for it must be remembered 
that if Eusapia had substituted a dummy hand for one of her 
own, and we had suddenly jerked away the hand we were 
holding, we should have jerked away the hand altogether, and 
we might have removed this dummy a yard or more away 
from Eusapia's body. As a matter of fact, however, we found 
that the hand always resisted us, and so was connected with 
Eusapia's body in some manner. 

In addition to all this, we had the testimony of our sense 
of touch. As I have said before, we could always feel dis- 
tinctly that the hand we were holding was a natural, human 
hand, and not a mere dummy. It was warm, and moist, and 
kept moving its fingers, and responding to our pressures and 
movements as only a natural hand could. When, further, we 
take into account the fact that all this only applies to those 
portions of the seance when the hands were not visible to us 
(and these portions were but a small fraction of the whole), 
we feel quite safe in saying that we regard it as proved be- 
yond doubt that the hands held by us at these sittings were 
real hands in every case, and not mere dummies. 

Again, as to the disposition of the hands. In a large num- 
ber of cases, it is true, both the medium's hands were on 
the surface of the table, and on some of these occasions, the 
medium was holding the hand of one sitter, and was held by 
the sitter on the other side — that is, in the position most 



164 Eusapia Palladino 

favorable for substitution. I am practically certain, how- 
ever, that substitution did not take place, as a matter of fact, 
at any time, save on those occasions mentioned in the short- 
hand notes. On the two occasions when Eusapia attempted 
this (because the force was weak, or for some other reason 
best known to herself) we immediately detected this substi- 
tution, and even knew that, it was going to take place before 
it actually did so. We could tell that Eusapia was gradually 
working our hands nearer and nearer together, and finally, 
when, at an opportune moment, she effected the substitution. 
But we had not the slightest difficulty in at once detecting 
this, and the resulting phenomena, produced by fraudulent 
means, were also strikingly different from the genuine on 
both occasions. It struck us at the time that it would be 
quite impossible to mistake the one for the other — the gen- 
uine for the fraudulent. The character of the phenomenon 
was entirely different, and could not be confounded. To 
us, these very facts were perhaps the strongest argument for 
the genuineness of the phenomena that we could conceive. 
The fact that fraud was immediately detected when it was 
attempted, and that the resulting phenomena appeared to 
us to be entirely different in character from the genuine, were 
very strong arguments for thinking that the genuine phe- 
nomena were such in reality; and further assured us that we 
should easily have detected other fraudulent manifestations, 
had they been attempted. 

But during the greater part of all our seances, the hands 
were held in such a manner that substitution would have 
been impossible. In the first place, the light was generally 
sufficient to allow us to clearly see the two hands of the 
medium resting on the table ; and we did not have to depend 
upon our holding entirely or even primarily. A large part 



Eusapia Palladino 165 

of the time we should have been content to have no control 
at all, so clear were Eusapia's hands ; and we only paid such 
close attention to the control and dictated it so carefully in 
order that it might appear in the shorthand accounts of the 
sittings that we had done so. During a large part of each 
sitting, we held one of the medium's hands in her lap and the 
other on the table, e.g., or one hand on each corner of the 
table; or held the hands in the air; and, on two occasions, 
I held both the medium's hands in both of mine, while touches 
on my left side took place. During these touches the me- 
dium's head was clearly visible to us all, and her feet re- 
mained tied to the sitters' chairs on either side of her. 
Hardly for a second throughout the whole course of the sit- 
tings was the medium's head invisible to us, i.e., the control- 
lers on either side of her. 

Now a few words as to the control of the feet. As we 
have said before, Eusapia is extremely hyperaesthetic about 
the control of her feet, and one cannot control them in the 
way one would like. This is especially so with the left foot, 
as will be seen by referring to the detailed notes. Of course 
the obvious deduction to be drawn from this fact is that 
Eusapia attempted to force us to relax our control of her 
feet, so that she might thereby release them the more easily. 
But we are quite assured that this is not the case. During 
the levitations of the table, and during some of the best 
phenomena that took place (for the production of which her 
feet might have been employed), the control of her feet was 
practically perfect. On some occasions one of us was under 
the table holding both her feet in his two hands; at other 
times her feet and legs were tied to the legs of her chair, or 
to the chairs of the two controllers on either side of her; on 
yet other occasions the "stocks" apparatus effectually pre- 



1 66 Eusapia Palladino 

vented her from using her feet for the production of spurious 
phenomena; at other times, the light was sufficiently good 
for us to see both her feet; while on all occasions, we could 
clearly feel the medium's foot pressing on ours, on the ex- 
treme opposite sides of the table, and at a sufficiently great 
distance from each other to effectually prevent any substi- 
tution. We frequently verified the control of the feet with 
our hands, and in other ways assured ourselves that her feet 
were really pressing on ours, and that the feet were really 
Eusapia's. At the very moment of the production of the phe- 
nomena we were especially careful to observe the control, and 
generally all but disregarded the phenomena in our attempt 
to verify the absoluteness of the control. 

For all of these reasons, then (largely because Eusapia's 
hands and feet were kept so widely separated, were visible as 
well as tangible, and were perfectly passive in our grasp), 
I consider the hypothesis of substitution as absolutely ex- 
cluded throughout our seances — except on those few occa- 
sions where our control was relaxed, and Eusapia attempted 
substitution. On these occasions, we at once informed Eusa- 
pia that the control was not good, and she immediately ad- 
mitted that it was not, and replaced her hand under the 
safe keeping in one of ours. The psychology of this fraud 
will be found discussed at some length on pp. 327-28, 335. 

During the levitations of the table, we tried every device 
to check the results by making the control as rigid as possible. 
Frequently, we lifted the medium's hands above the table a 
foot or more while the levitation was in progress, and saw 
that there was no connection between her hands and the 
table. When her hands remained on the surface of the 
table, we often passed our hands under her hands, and es- 
pecially under her wrists, to see that she was inserting noth- 



Eusapia Palladino 167 

ing beneath the edge of the table. We would also pass our 
hands between her body and the table, and hold her head 
well away from the table — precautions which the amount 
of light really rendered unnecessary, but which we did in 
order that we might say that we had done so. We ascer- 
tained that her skirt was not touching the legs of the table 
by passing our hands between the table and the skirt; we 
frequently pressed heavily upon her two knees with our hands 
and arms ; we controlled her feet with ours, and on several oc- 
casions placed a night light under the table, to be better 
enabled to see her feet and legs. We tied her legs to the 
chair with rope; finally we got under the table and held 
her ankles in our hands. In spite of all these precautions, 
however, the table continued to rise up into the air without 
visible means of support. Accordingly, we devised the 
"stocks" apparatus (which will be found fully described in 
the notes), in order to check, mechanically, our observations, 
and render impossible the use of the medium's feet for pur- 
poses of levitation by fraudulent means. Even after the in- 
troduction of this apparatus, and the additional precautions 
followed by us after its use, we still obtained levitations ; and 
we were consequently forced to the conclusion that these levi- 
tations of the table were not produced by Eusapia, but were 
the result of some force or forces as yet unknown. 

Throughout our sittings, we never lost sight of one primary 
fact, viz., that our object was to establish the facts, and not 
to theorize about them. Our sole object was to ascertain 
that certain phenomena took place, and that they were not 
produced by Eusapia herself by normal means; and we did 
not care to speculate on the nature of the force displayed, 
but merely to establish its reality. Of course we could not 
help commenting on the nature of the force at the time ; but 



168 Eusapia Palladino 

such speculations we carefully kept out of the report. Va- 
rious theories have been advanced in the past, from time to 
time, to explain these facts, but none of them can be regarded 
as satisfactory, and none of them really explain all the facts. 
Let the facts once gain general acceptance, and the theories 
will come in due 

SEANCE I 

Our first seance was held on November 21, 1908, F. and 
C. only being present. M., the stenographer, was seated 
at a separate table in the next room. We dictated at first 
through the partially opened doors. The seance commenced 
at 10.35 p.m., in good light. A sixteen-candle power elec- 
tric lamp, covered by three thicknesses of thin, brown tissue 
paper, hung from the ceiling. We could clearly read the 
small print of a Baedeker. For the first half hour, little took 
place, except tilts of the table, which had very little eviden- 
tial value. Owing to our inexperience, moreover, at dic- 
tating notes, these appeared to us totally inadequate, when 
re-reading the seance next day, and we accordingly omitted 
accounts of all phenomena, up to 11.04, when our first com- 
plete levitation took place. 1 

Our shorthand account of this seance reads in part as 
follows : 

"11.04 P« M « The table tilts toward C. Then a com- 
plete levitation follows, both medium's hands being on the 
table, and both clearly visible. 

1 By "complete levitation" we mean the lifting of the table off all four 
legs simultaneously. A levitation of this kind is seldom less than six inches 
off the ground, and frequently a foot or more. By "partial levitation" we mean 
the raising of the table on two, and sometimes onto only one, leg. In complete 
levitations the table generally went up horizontally, sometimes momentarily 
but occasionally lasting several seconds. A partial levitation would often turn 
into a complete levitation — the table going up into the air at an angle. 



Eusapia Palladino 



169 



"C. 1 Both feet being on our feet, my left hand being 
across both her knees. 

Position I 






F 



"F. I looked under the table and clearly saw that her 
knees and the table legs were not touching." 

Various raps and tilts followed, including one complete 
levitation. As we found considerable difficulty in dictating 
the control to the stenographer, he entered the room, and 

Position II 



r 



took up his position at another table, at a distance of eight 
or nine feet from the medium. F. and C. changed places, 

1 Throughout the seances, initials will be found indicating the dictator. Thus, 
in this first seance, C = Carrington, F = Feilding, and M = Meeson (our stenog- 
rapher). 



170 Eusapia Palladino 

at 11. 15, when this was going on. During the rest of the 
series of sittings the stenographer was invariably present in 
the room at his own table. Various tilts and a complete 
levitation at 11.26 followed under good conditions. At 
11.43 the following incident occurred: 

"The table rocks violently. 

"F. I am certain that her right leg is not touching the 
table. 

"C. My right hand being across both knees. Complete 
levitation of the table. 

"F. I am certain that her right leg is not touching the 
table. My right leg was continuously curled round the table 
leg. I can see right down the right leg of the table. The 
medium removed her hands, and mine, from the table, which 
rose right up into the air about two seconds after the hands 
had left. My right hand had been pulled up by her about 
two feet above the table before it started. [My left hand 
was on her right knee.] 

"C. Her left foot was on my right foot; my right hand 
was held by the medium beneath the table, in her lap, about 
one foot from the table. [M. notes that he could see table 
in the air, with nobody touching it.] 

"C. Medium's left foot was continuously on my right." 

Another levitation and further tilts took place, immediately 
after this phenomenon. At 11.56 we first saw the famous 
"curtain" phenomenon — the curtain blowing out as though 
from a wind inside — bulging out the curtain, as the sail of 
a ship might be blown out by the wind. The medium held 
one of our hands toward the curtain, and the curtain blew 
out of its own accord while our hands were at least a foot 
away from it. Her hands and knees were also controlled 
while this was taking place, and we could see that her head 
and body remained immovable. 



Eusapia Palladino 171 

At 11.58 a complete levitation of the table occurred un- 
der excellent conditions. Mr. Feilding was enabled to stoop 
down, and pass his hands under the table legs while it was in 
the air, showing that it was several inches off the floor. Both 
the medium's hands were held away from the table. My 
light hand was across both her knees, both her feet were 
securely held, and we observed that the table legs did not 
touch her skirt in such a manner as to effect the results. 
While the table was in the air, Eusapia suddenly brought my 
hand down on to the table, and asked me to press downward 
as hard as I could, she also pressing downward with her hand 
above mine. I used considerable force in an attempt to 
force the table to the floor, but for two or three seconds was 
unable to do so. Several raps and bulgings of the curtain 
followed. Between these bulgings, I felt along the floor, 
and between the medium and the curtain, and ascertained 
that there was no string or thread which Eusapia was pulling 
in order to cause these bulgings. I found none. As a 
matter of fact, even if she had succeeded in attaching a string 
to the curtain, unknown to us, and pulled it at the critical 
moment, the phenomena would have had an entirely dif- 
ferent appearance than any which we saw. It would have 
come out always at one place, and in a point, as it were, 
whereas the bulgings we perceived took place in various 
parts of the curtain, and always had a rounded appearance, 
as though a head were inside, pushing against the curtain. 
Moreover, since both the medium's hands were perfectly 
visible in ours, we ascertained that she was not pulling any 
thread, or making any movement that would be necessary 
in order to accomplish this result. These observations we 
checked off repeatedly at later sittings. 

Two levitations, two minutes apart, followed by seven 



IJ2 



Eusapia Palladino 



raps on the table, told us to end the seance, which we did 
at 12.30 A.M. At our first sitting we had obtained only 
raps, curtain phenomena, and levitations of the table. 



SEANCE 2 

Our second seance occurred under practically the same 
conditions, on the evening of November 23d. Only F. and 
C. were present, with the exception of M., the stenographer, 
at his separate table. The same light was permitted at 
first, though this was afterwards reduced, as the notes will 
show. F. controlled the right side of the medium on this 
occasion, and C. the left. 




We commenced by asking the medium to obtain raps on 
the surface of the table, while her feet and legs are clearly 
not touching the table legs. She consents, and kneels on a 
chair, her feet away from the table. Her right hand rests 
on the table, closely observed by us, and apparently motion- 
less. Eusapia then makes two movements with her left 
hand, at a distance of about six inches above the table. Two 
faint, echolike raps occur in the wood, about a second later. 
After obtaining these raps we tied Eusapia's legs to the legs 



Eusapia Palladino 173 

of our chairs by means of ropes, which were first passed round 
each ankle, knotted, and then carried to our chair legs, where 
they were securely fastened. This tying occupied thirteen 
minutes — from which it may be judged that it was fairly 
secure! We then resumed our places at the table, placing 
our feet upon her feet and pressing her knees together with 
our knees. We then each placed a hand upon one of her 
knees, and with our other free hand, each held one of Eusa- 
pia's hands upon the table. 

Raps and tilts began almost immediately. Some of these 
were very remarkable, and one of them ended in a complete 
levitation. The table had tilted on to its two right legs. I 
was holding the medium's left hand in my hand, over the 
table, her left foot pressing on my right foot, my right knee 
being in contact with her left knee. Her right hand was 
resting on F.'s shoulder, her right knee and foot also being 
carefully controlled. The table was then completely levi- 
tated, and, while it was in the air, I brought my hand down 
to its surface and pressed upon the table strongly, in an at- 
tempt to force it to the floor. Eusapia also pressed with her 
hand — which was controlled by my hand. In spite of our 
united pressure, however, the table remained in the air for 
at least two or three seconds, before falling heavily to the 
floor. 

At 11.01, Eusapia's feet and knees being controlled by 
our feet, and by our hands, which rested across her knees, 
the table tilted away from her — the two nearest legs rising 
into the air at least a foot. At the moment this took place, 
the medium clenched both fists, and removed them away 
from the table, on a line with her waist, to a distance of 
about eighteen inches. Both hands were clearly visible, fists 
clenched. She sat well back in her chair and we observed 



174 Eusapia Palladino 

that there was a clear space of at least nine inches between 
her body and the table, during the production of this remark- 
able phenomenon. 

A series of levitations then followed — succeeding one an- 
other so rapidly that we found it difficult to dictate the con- 
trol. In spite of our utmost attention and repeated efforts 
to check these levitations, by some means or other they con- 
tinued to occur in the most exasperating manner. We were 
seated merely on the corners of our chairs, constantly peer- 
ing beneath the table, noting the distance between her body 
and the table, her skirt and the table legs, the exact posi- 
tion of her knees, her feet, her hands, her head — holding, 
controlling, probing, investigating — all to no purpose. The 
table continued to rise into the air in spite of our utmost 
precautions and our attempts to prevent it. Our record 
of this series reads as follows: 

"11.05 p -M. Complete levitation of the table. 

"F. The table lifts about six inches, only C.'s and my 
hands were on the table, clasped across the middle. 

"Another complete levitation of the table. 

"F. Nobody's hands are on the table. It goes up all 
by itself! 

"Another complete levitation of the table. 

"C. All hands being off the table. Her right hand was 
free, but perfectly visible, and about six inches off the table. 

"11. 10. F. asks medium to attempt levitation while 
standing up. She agrees, but presently says she cannot stand 
any longer. She reseats herself. 

"ii.ii. Complete levitation of the table. 

"C. Both hands of the medium are about eight inches 
above the table. I can clearly feel her left foot across my 
right. The leg of the table was not in contact with her 
skirt. 

"Another complete levitation of the table. 



Eusapia Palladino 175 

"F. My left hand was underneath the bottom of the leg 
of the table. There was no contact between her and the table 
leg. Her right hand is off the table altogether. 

"C. There is nine inches between her body and the 
table." 

Between this time and 11.32 the light was lowered several 
times so that we could distinguish merely the outlines of 
the medium's body, and the details of her head and hands 
upon close inspection. During this period raps, tilts, cur- 
tain phenomena, and levitations had continued to take place. 
At 11.34 we experienced our first phenomenon of a different 
character, consisting in the movement of objects at some dis- 
tance from the body of the medium. The conditions of this 
experiment were as follows: 

"C. My right hand is under the table, firmly holding 
the medium's left hand. 

"F. I have hold of her right hand continuously in her 
lap. 

"C. Medium holds my right hand firmly. 

"F. The medium kicks with her right foot violently 
on mine. 

"C. She kicks with her left foot also. 

"C. Her left hand raises my right hand toward the cur- 
tain. 

"F. Objects in the cabinet rattle on the table. 

"F. Medium asks me to put my left arm on her shoulder. 
Her right arm is around my neck. 

"C. With her left hand medium is holding my right hand 
on the table. 

"C. Objects in the cabinet fall over on the table. She 
grasped my right hand firmly in her left hand at the time 
this was going on and pressed on my right foot with her left 
foot. 

"F. I held her right hand on the table with my left and 
the tips of both her feet under the table with my right hand. 



1176 Eusapia Palladino 

"C. My left hand holds her head. I am holding her 
left hand in my right." 

Immediately after this, the small table, which had been 
placed in the cabinet, and upon which rested the various 
musical instruments, climbed up of its own accord on to the 
seance table. It came up, remaining behind the curtains, so 
that it was invisible. Several objects remained on the sur- 
face of the table — kept there by the pressure of the curtain 
above them. It came up at an angle of about forty-five de- 
grees, and, while it was endeavoring to clamber up on the 
seance table by a series of jerks, I placed my hand and elbow 
upon its surface and pressed downward in an attempt to 
force it to the floor. I experienced a peculiar elastic resist- 
ance, however, as though the table were strung on rubber 
bands and was unable to force it downward. I continued 
this struggle for several seconds, then yielded and allowed the 
table to clamber on to our seance table, which it almost suc- 
ceeded in doing. While this was happening, we verified, 
several times, that our control of head, hands, elbows, feet, 
and knees was secure. 

At 11.44 we experienced for the first time a touch by 
an apparently human hand. This was in reply to a request. 
F. had said, 'John, will you touch me?' He was imme- 
diately touched on the left forearm as though by a hand. 
He verified at that moment that he was holding the medium's 
right hand in his, while I verified that I was holding her 
left hand. Her head was clearly visible." 

Following this, we experienced a series of touches, which 
we recorded as follows: 

"F. asks John to touch C. 

"C. I am touched through the curtain on my right arm, 



Eusapia Palladino 177 

Her hand is holding mine on top of the table. I could 
see her face. 

"F. I could see her right hand in mine, and her face. 

"11.49. F. asks whether John can touch C. on his head. 
The medium asks F. to rest his head against hers. 

"F. Our two heads are touching. 

"C. I am touched on the head by a hand through the 
curtain. "While this was going on, the medium held my hand 
in hers, and I could feel her forearm, with my arm pressed 
against it. The distance between her hand and the touch 
was about two feet. 

"F. Her head was resting against mine. Her right hand 
was in mine. 

"C. The curtain blows right out over the table." 

At this point the medium asked that her feet might 
be untied, as they were hurting her. [Up to this point they 
had remained securely tied with rope to our chair legs.] 

F. stooped down to untie the rope on his side, and at the 
moment he was doing so I saw a square black object come 
out from the cabinet to within a few inches of my face and 
instantly recede into the curtains again. This square ob- 
ject somewhat resembled a head in outline — although it was 
exceptionally square and rather small. It appeared to be 
attached to a long neck. Eusapia's left hand was held in 
mine and her body and head appeared to be motionless. As, 
however, her right hand was unaccounted for, since F. had 
released it in order to untie her feet, we had to discount the 
evidential value of this phenomenon. F. stated, however, 
that he looked up immediately I cried out, on seeing the face, 
and saw Eusapia's right hand and arm resting quietly, partly 
on the table and partly on his own shoulder. 

The cabinet curtains had remained drawn to one side, and, 
leaning sideways on my chair, I was enabled to see into the 



178 Eusapia Palladino 

cabinet. While doing so, I perceived that the small round 
table (which had fallen backward, after its attempt to climb 
up on the seance table, and was now lying prone upon the 
floor) seemed to be endowed with life and commenced to 
move about upon the floor of its own accord. I watched the 
movements for sometime, pausing to ascertain that Eusapia's 
feet, knees, and hands were securely held in F.'s hands and 
mine, and again saw the table moving at some distance from 
everybody. It moved about a foot. 

Eusapia now pressed F.'s hand three times, and three noises 
in the cabinet were heard, corresponding to these squeezes. 
The noises appeared to issue from the tambourine, whose 
cymbals were heard to rattle. 

I have said that the small table was lying across the cabi- 
net floor. In the corner rested our guitar, standing upside 
down, where it had fallen from the small table when the 
latter was forcibly extracted from the cabinet. In this posi- 
tion, it will be seen, the small table formed an effectual de- 
fense, or barrier, as it were — some eighteen inches high, be- 
tween Eusapia's feet and the guitar in the corner. In order 
to reach the guitar, moreover, she would have had to lift 
her foot, pass it between the opening in the curtains, over 
the table, and touch the strings of the guitar. When I say, 
moreover, that both the medium's feet were securely held, 
and that there was a clearly lighted patch of carpet of about 
a foot between her skirt and the cabinet curtains, it will be 
obvious that her feet had nothing to do with the following 
phenomenon. 

The medium was standing up, outside the cabinet, her 
hands held in ours. She took one of F.'s hands in hers, and 
rapped upon it three times with the other. Exactly corre- 
sponding with the first two raps, raps were heard on the 



Eusapia Palladino 179 

wood of the small table in the cabinet, and corresponding 
with the third tap, one string of the guitar was played. The 
medium had had no opportunity to touch this instrument be- 
fore, and we regarded this phenomenon as one obtained under 
excellent test conditions. 

At the conclusion of the seance a rather amusing incident 
occurred. The medium had said that she was tired, and 
asked John if the seance might terminate. John replied, 
"No! No!" by means of raps upon the table. The medium 
said, "Say yes, John, please," but John again rapped, "No! 
No!" The curtains of the cabinet were then gently parted, 
as if by invisible hands, and the next minute four complete 
levitations of the table took place, following one another in- 
stantaneously. This took place when both hands and both 
feet of the medium were well held — her hands being clearly 
visible about six inches above the table. After this, Eusapia 
again asked "John" if the seance might end, and this time 
he rapped three times for "yes." 



seance 3 

The first two seances had afforded us ample opportunity 
to assure ourselves that the phenomena were real, and had 
indicated several weak points in the management of the 
seance — partly in the manner of dictating the stenographic 
record, but chiefly as to the arrangement of the lights. 

For our third seance, we had, accordingly, arranged in 
the same position as the single burner at the previous seances, 
a cluster of four electric lights. The current varied through 
no, 150, 220, and 240 volts. These lamps are referred to 
throughout the shorthand notes as Numbers 1, 2, 3, and 4, 
respectively. No. 1 was a bright white light, sufficiently 



180 Eusapia Palladino 

clear to enable us to read small print with ease; No. 2 a 
feeble white light, but enabling us to see across the room 
various articles of furniture, etc.; No. 3 was a bright red 
light, really as intense as No. 2, and we had to shade this 
later with tissue paper and a silk handkerchief, since the rays 
were very penetrating ; No. 4 was a feeble red light, enabling 
us only to see the white of the medium's head and hands, 
and in order to detect the texture of the skin, etc., we had to 
hold them within a few inches of our eyes. The stenographer 
was provided with a separate red lamp of his own, so as to 
throw no light into any part of the room — the rays being 
directed downward on to his notebook. 

In order to test, further, the phenomena of levitation, we 
had had constructed, in wood, a piece of apparatus, which we 
styled "the stocks." [See accompanying figure.] This con- 
sisted of two square, tapering cubes, into which were set the 
legs of the table. These tubes were fastened to a board, and 
this board was held to the floor by our feet, which were 
placed upon it, and by the legs of our chairs, which also rested 
upon this board. It will be seen, therefore, that the medium 
could no longer raise the table by means of her feet, since she 
could not touch the table legs nearest to her in any way. 
She was also prevented from levitating the table with her 
knees by the board which joined these two tubes at the upper 
extremity. The table could rock and sway, therefore, with 
more or less freedom, and could, of course, be levitated with 
perfect ease. 

The seance commenced about 9.50, and considerable time 
elapsed without any important phenomena taking place. The 
lights were successively lowered through Nos. 1, 2, 3, and 4. 
After about fifteen minutes the curtain commenced blowing 
out, and at 10.10 an incident occurred which shows us how 



Eusapia Palladino 



81 



this power may be communicated from the medium to one of 
her sitters when she chooses to impart it. Thus: 

"F. She asked me to make a motion toward the curtain 
with my hand, free. I did so, and the curtain moved. She 
then took hold of my wrist and the curtain came out and 
touched me." 



Position I 
*0 



At 10.32 we detected a substitution of hands, which was 
the first attempt at fraud that the medium had made, and, 
I feel sure, with one possible exception, during the ninth 
seance, that it was the last. The lights had been successively 
lowered, until almost complete darkness resulted — this being 
very different from our first two seances, where all our best 
phenomena had been obtained in bright light. Moreover, 
instead of holding our hands upon the table, the medium 
insisted in holding them beneath it — upon the board of 
the stocks — still farther in the shadow. Our record of the 
incident reads as follows: 



"10.32. F. The medium makes three gestures with the 
right hand and nothing happens. 

"C. The curtain blows out on the table. 

"F. For the first time the right-hand curtain blows out 
on the table. 



182 Eusapia Palladino 

"C. My left hand was not properly held, and I am per- 
fectly certain that there was a substitution of hands. 

"F. explains to the medium that the control was not good." 

I think that this detection of fraud, instead of tending to 
disprove the reality of the phenomena, is the strongest pos- 
sible argument we could have that the majority of them 
were genuine, and this for two reasons : In the first place, the 
character of the resultant phenomena was entirely different 
from those which we had seen before and those which we 
saw later. Whereas, in the other instances, the curtain had 
merely bulged out, as though blown by a wind from within 
— in this particular instance the curtain came out with a 
swish and the lower end of it landed on the seance table. 
Nothing like it ever happened before or after. 

Secondly, the whole process was easily perceived by me, 
on whose side it occurred. I saw the medium effect the 
well-known substitution of hands, release the right hand and 
arm, place it behind her into the cabinet, catch hold of the cur- 
tain on that side and throw it out over the table. Imme- 
diately she resorted to fraud — it will be observed — we de- 
tected it, and this is one very strong argument, it seems to 
me, that we should have detected it on other occasions also 
had she resorted to it. When we told Eusapia that the con- 
trol of her hands was not good — intimating to her that she 
had practiced fraud, she immediately admitted that the con- 
trol had not been satisfactory and replaced her hands in 
ours, allowing for the rest of that seance, and thence- 
forward, perfect control to be exercised and did not again at- 
tempt fraud at any of the ensuing seances. 

It seems probable to me that Eusapia attempted fraud on 
this occasion in order to test our credulity, and to see if we 
could be deceived by it. It must be remembered that a 



Eusapia Palladino 183 

genuine seance is exceedingly exhausting to Eusapia, and 
if she could have succeeded in producing fraudulent phe- 
nomena, and in duping us into thinking that they were 
genuine, she would have saved herself this outlay of nervous 
energy and yet receive her pay for the seances as usual! I 
believe, therefore, that this phenomenon was merely to test 
us, and to see if she could rely upon deceiving us during 
the future seances. Finding that she could not, she made 
up her mind that to attempt fraud was useless, and thence- 
forth consented to our most rigorous control and made 
no further attempt to produce phenomena by fraudulent 
means. 

Repeatedly, after this, the medium asked us to verify the 
fact that her hands and feet were securely held, and generally 
warned us in advance, so that we could make sure of their 
exact position before any phenomenon. Thus, at 10.52 the 
medium said: 

"Look out ! I feel that something is going to happen !" 

She pressed vigorously on my foot and immediately after- 
wards we obtained our first complete levitation of the table 
that evening. The medium was holding my left hand in her 
right hand on her right knee, and F.'s right hand was held by 
her left hand on her left knee. We each felt a complete 
hand and assured ourselves that there was no question of 
substitution. F., at the moment of the production of the 
phenomenon, saw something which he described as "a filmy 
black thing" shoot out from her body and touch the table 
immediately before the levitation. 

To the skeptic this would suggest that some mechanical 
device was employed by Eusapia in order to effect the levi- 
tation. We frequently ascertained, however, that such was 
not the case. Not only could we see a clear space between her 



184 Eusapia Palladino 

body and the table, but we frequently passed our hands be- 
tween them during the actual levitation, in a number of in- 
stances. We have to conclude, then, it seems to me, that this 
filmy black substance was some supernormal prolongation, 
and was not a mechanical appliance as might be imagined at 
first sight. 

A few minutes after this, I was pulled by a hand through 
the curtains of the cabinet, and the medium called our at- 
tention to a black shadow, which, however, we did not see. 
This fact is interesting, since it shows us how little expec- 
tancy and suggestion can succeed in producing hallucinations 
during these sittings. So far as I can remember, this is al- 
most the only instance where Eusapia directly suggested to 
us that a form was to be seen in a certain direction — and we 
failed to see it! 

At 10.59 I heard something moving in the cabinet,, which 
I described as a sound similar to that made by a small kitten 
romping about. Nothing, however, resulted immediately. 
At 11.06 the medium asked M., the stenographer, to change 
places with me. He accordingly assumed control of her right 
side, while F. went under the table and held her ankles in 
his hands. On my side I was holding the medium's left 
hand on her left thigh, my hand entirely encircling hers. 
Under these conditions of control, we obtained a complete 
levitation of the table of about eight inches. A minute later, 
we obtained a second levitation, which, however, we had 
largely to discount for evidential purposes — inasmuch as the 
medium had asked to rest and we were more or less off 
our guard. Personally we were convinced that she did not 
produce the levitation by fraudulent means, but we would 
not attempt to convince others on evidence itself inconclu- 
sive. At this point M. resumed his position at his table, 



Eusapia Palladino 185 

made notes of what had occurred, while F. assumed control 
of the right side. 

11.35. Medium's hands tied to ours with rope. 

At 11.45, after a series of curtain phenomena and lesser 



Position II 

c 



F 

9 



manifestations, the following interesting series of events took 
place, the account of which I quote from the detailed record : 

"C. The tambourine in the cabinet rattles after three 
distinct movements. While that was going on, I was hold- 
ing medium's left hand over the table with my right. 

"Medium says: 'Oh, la! la! la!' several times, and then 
suddenly the table in the cabinet falls over and the things 
on it fall to the floor w T ith a crash. Tambourine strikes 
several times. 

"F. She was holding my right hand all the time. 

"C. Touched on my right arm. Medium holds my right 
hand in her left all the "time. Her left foot pressing on my 
right foot. 

"C. Touched again on my right arm. She presses four 
times strongly with her finger on my hand. 

"F. Her right foot on mine all the time, and kicking 
about, her right hand pressing on mine. 

"C. Medium presses her left foot on my right. Loud 
noises in the cabinet, as though objects were moving about 
within. 



1 86 Eusapia Palladino 

"F. She is kicking about under the table with her right 
foot." 

[The above series of phenomena took place so rapidly, 
like a kind of feu de joie, that it was difficult to describe the 
control throughout. The final description of the foot con- 
trol, when one foot was stationary, while the other moved 
about, seems to make it clear that two separate feet were 
held.] 

Immediately after these phenomena, a complete levitation 
of the table occurred. 

At 11.50 another series of remarkable phenomena oc- 
curred, the account of which I again quote from the original 
record : 

"Gestures made toward the cabinet, followed by movements 
of instruments inside the cabinet. 

"Medium tells F. to make gestures with his free hand and 
noises inside the cabinet follow them irregularly. 

"C. Small table is coming out from under the curtain 
on my right, legs first. One leg of the table has climbed up 
on to my chair. [Here again the phenomena followed so 
quickly that a description of the control was impossible. We 
can only say that it seemed adequate at the time.] 

"Light No. 4. 

"M. I can see everything very clearly. 

"F. So can I. 

"C. So can I. 

"Noises again follow gestures made by F. 

"C. The small table attempts to climb on to the seance 
table and falls back. 

"M. I can see all the hands over and away from the 
table and her feet. 

"Things in the cabinet move about violently and with 
great commotion. 

"F. Feet are all right. [That is, securely held.] 

"11.51. C. In good light I can see the small table mov- 
ing toward me, the result of my making movements toward 



Eusapia Palladino 187 

it with my right hand. The medium's left hand holding my 
right hand and clearly visible. She is pressing on my right 
foot with her left foot. 

"F. Her right foot firmly fixed on mine. I have just 
verified with my hand the division of her toes. 

"Medium asked C. to lift up the small table and put it 
upright. [The small table now stands completely out of the 
cabinet.] 

"11.53. Complete levitation of the small table. 

"C. My right hand being on the surface, her left hand 
being upon mine, her left foot pressing strongly on mine. 

"The table is raised about a foot in the air. 

"F. Her right foot is pressing on mine. 

"11.57 p. M. C. She puts her left hand on my right, 
which rests flat on the top of the small table and the table 
again rises a foot in the air. Her foot is still strongly press- 
ing on my right. 

"F. Her right foot is still pressing on mine; her right 
hand is visible close to me, in mine. 

"C. I now ascertain that there is no string or connection 
between the medium and the small table. The distance be- 
tween the small table and the dress of the medium appears to 
me to be about a foot." 

Soon after this the medium made several movements of 
her hand above the table, which rocked to and fro in re- 
sponse to her motions. Finally, a complete levitation re- 
sulted, the small table rising to a height of about a foot. 

During these latter phenomena, I had not been perfectly 
satisfied with the control of the foot on my side, not feel- 
ing the whole of the foot, as I did usually. We explained 
to her that the control had not been considered perfect, and 
that we were not altogether satisfied. As a matter of fact, 
and as the result of added experience, I now think that these 
phenomena were probably genuine, but I was naturally skep- 
tical at the time, after only three seances — at one of which 



1 88 Eusapia Palladino 

we had detected fraud. I was, therefore, in a hypercritical 
frame of mind and undesirous of accepting any phenomenon 
not produced under absolutely test conditions. Immediately 
we told Eusapia that our control had not been good, she 
said, "Let us repeat it, then," and resumed her place at the 
table, asking us to control her as before. I regret to say 
that in spite of our waiting sometime no additional move- 
ments of the small table took place. 



seance 4 

After our third seance Eusapia informed us that we must 
provide a larger circle if we wished to see the more striking 
phenomena — since two of us were not enough to supply the 
necessary "current." She asked that a friend of hers, a M. 
De Santis, and two other friends might be present — who 
would sit outside the circle and act merely as spectators. To 
this we agreed, feeling that, although we might thereby 
sacrifice certain scientific control of the seance, we might on 
the other hand obtain more decisive proof than any so far 
furnished. We also invited to this seance Professors Bot- 
tazzi and Galeotti, Professors of Physiology and Pathology, 
respectively, of the University of Naples, who had previously 
studied her. 

We had ascertained in the interval between the third and 
fourth seances that, if Eusapia managed to free one hand, 
she could have produced levitations of the table by fraudu- 
lent means, in spite of our stocks apparatus — in this manner : 
If Eusapia could free one hand and insert it beneath the edge 
of the table, an upward pull would succeed in levitating the 
table, for the reason that the two front legs, i.e.,, those nearest 
to her, would be balanced and controlled by the front edge 



Eusapia Palladino 189 

of the stocks — against which it would scrape in its upward 
journey. Provided Eusapia could introduce one hand be- 
neath the edge of the table, therefore, it became easier for 
Eusapia to levitate the table with the stocks than without 
them! A hook, attached to a strap, passing around her 
shoulders, would have the same effect. If the hook were in- 
troduced beneath the table and the medium half rose in her 
chair, it would be possible to lift the table off the ground, 
while both her hands and both feet were securely held. 
Because of the facilities afforded, therefore, and partly on 
account of Eusapia's antagonism to the apparatus, we dis- 
continued its use after this seance, preferring to obtain levi- 
tations without rather than with it. But on this occasion 
we wished to obtain levitations while the stocks apparatus 
was in place. We accordingly left the apparatus as it was 
before, and around the under edges of the table we pasted 
newspaper, reaching down as far as the transverse board of 
the stocks, across the front and the two sides, so that had a 
hand, a hook, or any similar instrument been introduced be- 
neath the table, it would immediately have torn the paper. 
We felt convinced that if we obtained phenomena under such 
conditions, trickery would be excluded. We afterwards as- 
certained, however, that even in spite of all these precautions, 
the table could still be fraudulently levitated, provided one 
hand were free ! This could not be accomplished without the 
apparatus and we accordingly agreed to discontinue its use. 

To return, however, to the fourth seance, which com- 
menced at 9.30 p.m. on the evening of November 29, 1908. 

No phenomena of importance occurred for fully half an 
hour, when the first manifestation took place. This was a 
complete levitation of the table, which occurred in spite of 
our protective paper and the varied precautions observed by 



190 



Eusapia Palladino 



us. Sometime before this, Eusapia had asked Professor Bot- 
tazzi to assume control of her right side in place of Mr. 
Feilding. I retained control of the left side up to this point. 
Writing the next day of this levitation, Mr. Feilding says: 



Position I 



6 



Position II 
Bi — iC 



F 





X Y Z 



© 
X Y Z 



Position III 
g-.R 



B 
9 



F 




C 
• 



X Y Z. 
f [XYZ- Friends of Eusapia] 



Eusapia Palladino 191 

"Having been removed from the place of controller of the 
medium, I occupied myself in guarding the end of the table 
farthest from her. The levitation, which began with only 
a tilt on two legs, then on three, and finally a levita- 
tion of all four legs, lasted long enough for me to be able 
to pass my hands several times round the farthest end of the 
table and down the legs, and verify that there was no contact 
with any of the sitters. Of this I am certain." 

The medium at this juncture asked Professor Galeotti to 
change places with me. He therefore assumed control of the 
left side, while Professor Bottazzi retained control of her 
right side. The medium also stated that the paper was anti- 
pathetic to her and asked that the ends of the table might be 
reversed. This was accordingly done. Throughout the 
early part of this seance the light was exceedingly poor, and 
we were not altogether satisfied, for many reasons, with 
the phenomena. The following extract from the report will 
show this: 

"10.32 p.m. F. 1 Medium makes gestures with B.'s 
hands up in the air. 

"B. I have the right hand of the medium in my left 
hand in* the air. 

"G. I hold the hand of the medium in my hand in the 
middle of the table. 

"Things tumble about on the small table in the cabinet. 

"G. The medium has her foot on my foot. 

"G. Something touched my arm. Something has moved 
under my chair. Something has again moved under my chair. 
She holds my fingers well. 

"M. Medium gasps and moans. 

"10.37. F. Note the position of heads is unknown. 

"B. I have been touched on my left shoulder. 

1 In this seance, F = Feilding, C = Carrington, M = Meeson, B = Professor 
Bottazzi, and G=» Professor Galeotti. 



192 



Eusapia Palladino 



"C. (to B.). Can you see her head? 

"B. No. 

"10.39. Complete levitation of the table. 

"B. The table is coming up; right hand held as before. 
Medium taps violently with her foot. 

"C. Another complete levitation of the table. Medium's 
right hand on my shoulder. 

"G. Medium's left hand was on the table. 

"The table rose up about two feet away from the me- 
dium." 

At 1 1.04 the small table in the cabinet came out of its own 
accord and attempted to climb on to the seance table. It 
finally ceased its movements and appeared to be resting part- 
ly on the table, partly on Eusapia's shoulder, and partly on 
Professor Galeotti's shoulder. I went round to investigate 
and found this to be the case. 

At 1 1 . 1 6, however, the small table made another series of 
attempts to climb up, and this time with more success, as it 
clambered completely on to the larger table. 

Position IV 




Shortly before 12 midnight, Eusapia's three friends and 
Professor Bottazzi took their leave — ?only Professor Galeotti, 
Mr. Feilding, and myself remaining. F. assumed control of 



Eusapia Palladino 



193 



the right side, while G. retained control of her left hand and 
foot. 

I then went under the table, and, kneeling down, held 
Eusapia's two feet in my hands by the ankles. F. was holding 
her right hand in the middle of the table, while G. was hold- 
ing her left hand close to its rim. Under these conditions, 
and while the medium was standing, we obtained a com- 
plete levitation, the table rising into the air, all four legs 
at once. 

Position V 




At 12.16 I again resumed control of the left side of Eusa- 
pia. The table tilted on its two legs farthest from her while 
I was holding her left hand completely away from the table, 
so that contact was impossible. F. then stood between the 
medium and the table, her outstretched arms passing over 
his arms, as over a fence. Under these conditions the table 
continued to stand on the two legs farthest from her for 
several minutes. After several movements of objects in the 
cabinet, the following incident then occurred: 

"12.23 a.m. F. The tambourine has jumped on to my 
left knee (and fell down? again). 

"C. The medium held my right hand firmly and raised 
it toward the cabinet. . . . 



194 Eusapia Palladino 

"F. Her foot is still on mine. 

"C. I am touched on the right arm. I am holding 
the medium's left hand on the table by the thumb and 
wrist. I was touched on the hip. Her left foot was on 
mine. 

"F. I can see her face. Medium now takes both my 
hands. The small table has come up on to my lap. 

"12.25. C. Medium held all our hands on both her 
hands [that is, a pile of hands]. 

"C. Her left foot is on my right foot. Her left arm 
rests on my right arm ; with my right hand I am also holding 
the medium's left hand. 

"F. I am sure of her right foot. 

"12.27 a.m. C. Her left foot is now on my right, 
firmly. 

"F. And the right foot is on my left foot. 

"12.28. Movements in cabinet. 

"C. With her left hand medium holds my right hand, 
about a foot above the table. 

"12.30. Medium says she wants to rest. An intermis- 
sion of about two minutes. 

"12.32. Things in cabinet move about. 

"F. The small table falls over to my left. Her right foot 
is absolutely certainly on my left foot. I am holding her 
right hand motionless on the table. 

"C. The left foot was thoroughly on my right foot, her 
left hand was held by my right hand, about two feet above 
the table, and she made a gesture with it in the direction of 
the small table which was on her right side." 

It is a significant fact that all our best phenomena were 
obtained after Eusapia's friends had left, and when only 
Professor Galeotti, Mr. Feilding, and myself remained. Had 
Eusapia attempted to resort to fraud, and were her friends 
invited for the purpose of assisting her, it is certain that phe- 
nomena should have been noticed before they had left. Since 
these were only observed after their departure, however, it 




<U I 

i- ° 



{3 s 



5^ 



~ O 



<U O 



_ 


— 










E 


« 




io 


t/i 




<u 






; = 


t 3 


-d 




'S 






0) 


"o 




E 





Eusapia Palladino 



195 



serves to indicate that the phenomena obtained were genuine, 
and that they depend on other conditions than those which 
would facilitate fraud. 



seance 5 

After the fourth seance we were joined from England by 
Mr. W. W. Baggally, who shared in every seance thence- 
forward until the close of the series. We had also invited 
to our fifth seance, which took place on December 2, 1908, 
Mr. Gibson, who, however, merely sat at the opposite end of 
the table from Eusapia, at no time assumed control, and took 
no active part in the control of the phenomena. The seance 
commenced at 9.44 p. M., in a good light, F. controlling the 
left side of Eusapia and I the right. Various raps and tilts 



Position! 



P05IT1CN 
E-P- 



II 



C 



F 



B 



[d — Mr Gibson] 



of the table occurred, the table continuing to remain on two 
legs, at an angle of about forty-five degrees, in spite of our 
repeated efforts to press it to the floor. 

At 10.18 I resigned my position of control to Mr. Bag- 
gally, who retained it during the rest of the seance. Remark- 



196 Eusapia Palladino 

able tilts continued to occur on the two legs farthest from 
Eusapia, and at 10.32 I went under the table and held Eusa- 
pia's feet in my hands. I reported that I could feel the live 
foot through the shoes, and knew that I was not merely hold- 
ing her empty shoes in my hands. Under these conditions, 
and while her hands were securely held by B. and F., the 
table forcibly tilted on two legs farthest from her. 

About 10.40 the curtains of the cabinet blew out and we 
all felt a strong breeze coming from the cabinet and blow- 
ing over the seance table. At 10.52 strong movements of the 
little table in the cabinet took place, both Eusapia's hands 
being well held, her right foot being on B.'s left foot, and 
her left leg resting across F.'s two knees. 

At 1 1. 10 F. and I both saw a white hand come over the 
medium's head, moving rather slowly, clench its fingers, and 
recede again into the cabinet. B. and G. did not see this hand, 
owing to the position of the right-hand curtain. B. and F. 
were both securely holding the medium's hands when this 
occurred. 

At 1 1. 1 8 F. and I both saw a black object somewhat re- 
sembling a head in shape, which F. described as "a grotesque 
face with a Jewish nose," come to within a few inches of 
B.'s face, then recede quickly into the cabinet. Eusapia's 
head was resting against F.'s, and both her hands securely 
held. 

Shortly after this, the following interesting incident oc- 
curred : 

"11.22. B. 1 The small table is moving. 
"F. She clenched my right hand at the time with her left 
hand on her lap ; her left foot quite clearly on my right. 

1 In this seance, besides the usual symbols, B = Baggally. This is retained 
throughout the remainder of the series. 



Eusapia Palladino 197 

"B. Same control as before. The small table rises and 
touches my elbow, while I am perfectly certain that her right 
hand is on my left hand on the table, and I can feel the whole 
length of her leg. 

"B. The small table is again moving. The same con- 
trol. 

"F. My right hand was on her two knees, and her left 
hand in mine, visible, and close to me. Legs both firmly be- 
tween B.'s and mine, as I have felt their position with my 
hand. 

"11.25. The small table is rising again. 

"C. The small table is put right on to the seance table. 
(Falling down again.) 

"B. Control perfect. 

"11.26. C. The small table is levitated right on to the 
seance table (and again falls to the floor) through the cur- 
tains, between B. and the medium. It rose to a height of 
two and a half feet from the floor and is now resting on the 
seance table." 



Two or three minutes later I reached down and lifted the 
small table, and put it into an upright position. No sooner 
had its feet touched the floor, however, than the table was 
completely levitated, rising up forcibly against my hand, to 
the height of about six inches. F. and B. verified their hand 
and foot control and found them perfect. I kept my hand 
flat on the surface of the table, and it was again levitated, 
twice. While I was leaning over, with my hand on the table, 
the curtain blew out strongly and brushed against my face. 
Several raps occurred on the wood of the small table. It 
continued to tilt back and forth, and at 11.36, I alone having 
my right hand on the small table, it tilted violently to the 
right, as though in response to a forcible pressure from one 
side. At the moment this was taking place, the medium, in 
trance, was leaning completely back in F.'s arms, her body 



198 Eusapia Palladino 

being encircled by them. His right hand was on her two 
knees, her left hand was visible on the table, and her right 
hand on the opposite corner. Her right foot, resting on B.'s, 
was swinging backward and forward under her chair — B. 
continuously following it with his left foot. 

At 12.06 a.m. a forcible tilt, followed by a complete 
levitation of the table, occurred under excellent conditions. 
I quote from the record in order that the reader may see 
the precautions taken by us to guard against any deception, 
or the possibility that the medium might have effected these 
tilts by pressure on one side or other of the table, or by her 
fingers, thumbs, or wrists, placed over the edge. 

"12.06. The medium stands up. 

"F. The table tilts on its two legs farthest from me- 
dium. My left hand is under the left table leg. I passed 
my hand down the leg also. Her left hand is motionless in 
mine. 

"C. Her right hand on the top of the table. I am pass- 
ing my ringers along the edge of the table; her fingers and 
wrists are well above the edge. 

"B. I am holding her right hand. 

"F. Both hands are now above the table. I was between 
her and the table. I pulled the table toward me, and it 
resisted considerably before it fell down — this after her hands 
had left." 

Immediately after this, a complete levitation took place. 
At the conclusion of the seance, we tested the cold breeze 
that issued from her forehead — which we had distinctly felt 
during the last few minutes of the seance. I examined the 
famous scar, both with my fingers and optically, and held 
my hand at a distance of about three inches from her head. 
The cold breeze was distinctly perceptible. We all felt this 
in turn, holding Eusapia's mouth and nose, so that she could 



Eusapia Palladino 



199 



not breathe. We held our own breaths, and again placed our 
hands over the famous scar. We felt the breeze as distinctly 
as ever — it being considerably colder than the temperature of 
the room. Although it was clear to us that this was objec- 
tive in character, we determined to demonstrate this fact at 
our next seance. Our experiments will be detailed at the 
conclusion of the next sitting, together with the remarkable 
results we obtained. 

SEANCE 6 

The sixth seance, which was perhaps the most remarkable 
of the whole series, was held on the evening of Decem- 
ber 4th — only the members of the committee — Messrs. 
Feilding, Baggally, and myself being present. For more 
than an hour and a half no important phenomena with the 
exception of a few tilts of the table took place, until 11.35, 
when B. was touched for the first time upon his shoulder. 

Position Throughout 



He was controlling the right side of the medium at this 
seance, I the left side, while Mr. Feilding was sitting oppo- 
site Eusapia at the other end of the table. At this time, 



200 Eusapia Palladino 

also, a square, black object, resembling a head, came out of 
the cabinet, approached to within a few inches of my face, 
then receded instantaneously. It was irregular in outline, 
and I described it as looking "like a cauliflower." The me- 
dium, who had gone into a deeper trance than she had entered 
at any previous seance, had fallen toward me, her body 
resting against my right side, her head resting against my 
head, and the whole of her left hand and arm being under 
my control. Her left foot was also under my feet; her right 
hand was held by Mr. Baggally on the table. I now quote 
from our detailed notes portions of this remarkable seance: 

"11.41 p.m. C. I am touched by a hand on the head. 

"F. I saw a white thing come out from the curtains over 
the medium's head and touch C.'s head. 

"C. While this was going on, the medium's head was 
resting against mine, my right arm being around her shoul- 
ders, her left hand being visible on mine on the table, her 
left foot pressing on my right. 

"B. Mine exactly the same as before. Her right hand 
was resting on my left hand on the table under the curtain 
[which had blown out] and her right foot is resting on 
my left foot, and her right knee is pressing against my left 
knee. I could tell it was her right hand by the feeling 
of the relative position of her hand to her fingers, and feel- 
ing the thumb in the palm of her hand; and that it was 
her real hand, by the warmth and by the response to my 
squeezes.] 

"11.44. The medium says: 'It is coming. There!' [Me- 
dium said to C. : "Look, he will come there!" indicating 
a particular spot to the left of B.] 

"C. I am touched on the head through the curtain, twice, 
the medium's head resting against my head, the left hand 
visibly on the table in my hand, her left knee pressing against 
my right knee. 

"B. Her right hand is resting in my left hand on the 



Eusapia Palladino 201 

table, and her right foot is resting on my left foot, and I 
still continue pressing my knee against her knee. 

"F. I saw something white just over the medium's head. 
A sort of flash of white. The medium's head was motion- 
less. 

i:.4-8. C. The medium moves the hand held in B.'s 
hand, and makes him feel with his hand that we are holding 
different ones. 

"B. And she tells me she is going to do it. 

"11.50. C. I hear something moving in the cabinet. 

"B. The curtain is thrown over my side. 

"F. It has come as far as my end of the table. 

"C. Her left hand held my right firmly on her knee, her 
left foot resting on my foot; I was also stroking her fore- 
head with my left hand. 

"B. Her right hand on my left hand, on her right knee. 
Her right foot on my left foot, and I could feel the whole 
length of her leg against mine, our knees touching. 

B. and C. both say they can 4 feel her thumbs. . . ." 

Under these conditions of control, we saw a white hand 
several times appear over Eusapia's head, and several of us 
experienced touches. I was hit on the head several times 
by a hand, of which I could feel the four fingers and the 
thumb. The medium said she was getting cold. A hand 
came out from behind the cabinet, and pressed B. tightly on 
the shoulder. He could feel its thumb and the four fingers. 
He was at the moment holding her right hand, and both her 
knees, while I was holding the other hand by the thumb on 
her left thigh. I resume the record at : 

"12.05. C. The medium holds my right leg in between 
her two legs and is kicking to and fro, saying she wants to 
bring something out of the cabinet with her foot, but her 
foot remained under the table all the time. 

"B. She has removed her foot from mine. 



202 Eusapia Palladino 

"12.06. F. I again saw a white thing over her head. I 
could not say w T hat it was. 

"C. My control was exactly the same as before. I also 
saw the white thing. The curtain blows out twice, as 
though pushed by some substance. I can see the round 
swelling of the curtain. Her hand was pressing firmly 
against my hand, and I am holding it by the thumb. Both 
her legs around my right leg. 

"B. Her right hand is on my left hand, on her right 
knee. 

"F. I have asked the medium whether I could feel the 
hand also. F. stands to the left of C, and leans over with 
his left hand outstretched about two and a half feet above 
and to the left of the medium's head. Immediately after: 

"F. I am touched by something directly on the point of 
the finger. 

"12.11 a.m. F. I am touched again. I am taken hold 
of by fingers, and I can feel the nails quite plainly. 
[My forefinger was pressed hard by three separate fingers 
above it and by a thumb below, through the curtain. I felt 
the nails quite distinctly as they pressed into my finger.] 

"C. Her head pressing against my head. I am abso- 
lutely holding her left hand on the table. Both her legs 
are around my right leg under the chair. 

"B. I am absolutely certain that her right hand is on 
my left hand on her right knee. 

"F. I am touched again, grasped this time as though 
by the lower part of a thumb and fingers. . . . 

"C. The medium has taken her two legs from around 
my right leg, and now has her left foot on my right foot. 

"B. And she places her right foot on my left foot, and 
I am feeling her knee with my knee. 

"C. The medium rests her head on my right shoulder, 
and is pressing against it. I have my arm around her 
neck. I have her left hand in my left hand on the table. I 
saw the curtain blow out in front of me. 

"B. Medium's right hand is in my left. . . . 

"C. I am touched on the head by a hand. At this mo- 



Eusapia Palladino 203 

ment the medium's head is pressing against my head, her left 
hand is on my left hand on the table, and with my right hand 
I am holding the whole of her left arm. Her left foot on 
my right foot. 

"B. Medium's right hand resting on my left, on the 
table. Right foot on my left foot, which she moves back- 
ward and forward, and I follow with my foot. 

"C. My foot was motionless." 

At 12.25 an exceedingly interesting and remarkable phe- 
nomenon occurred. My right foot was resting on its heel 
under the table, my toes pointing upward at an angle of 
about forty-five degrees. In the angular crutch thus formed 
Eusapia's left foot was resting. She suddenly kicked upward 
with her foot, and immediately there resounded on the under 
surface of the table a tremendous blow. It seemed as though 
the table had been struck by a mallet or kicked with terrific 
force. Now Eusapia's foot had quitted mine but the small- 
est fraction of a second, and I felt morally certain that, 
however quick she might have been, the time interval would 
not have been sufficient for her to have raised her foot to the 
height required, and lower it again. At the same time I 
could not present this subjective feeling as proof to a skep- 
tical outsider. I therefore stretched my left arm across, 
under the table, reaching from side to side, so that, if her foot 
attempted to kick the table a second time, she must neces- 
sarily have kicked my arm. I then asked her to repeat the 
performance. Her foot quitted mine for an instant again, 
and again the thunderous rap was heard on the under side 
of the table, but her foot did not touch my arm. I am, 
therefore, certain that the blow was not produced by the 
normal process of kicking, but probably by some projection 
of nervous, vital force from the toes of her foot. 



204 Eusapia Palladino 

A minute or two after this, Mr. Feilding rose and stood 
close to the cabinet curtains, holding his hand outstretched 
against them. He felt a cold breeze about his hand. At 
the same moment, a hand came out under cover of the cur- 
tains, and distinctly pulled my hair. At this moment the 
medium's head was resting against mine, her left hand and 
the whole of her left arm were under my control. Mr. 
Baggally was certain that he was holding her right hand upon 
the table. Both her feet were also accounted for. 

At 12.30 I saw a head come out from the cabinet slowly, 
remain visible two or three seconds, within six inches of my 
face, and slowly retire. The medium's head was resting 
against mine, I was holding her left hand in her lap, while 
Mr. Baggally was guarding her right hand. 

Mr. Feilding held his hand about three feet above Eusa- 
pia's head, wishing to see at how great a height he could 
be touched. Eusapia's hands were clearly held in ours, and 
she raised her own and our hands, held in hers about two 
feet above the table, saying that "it helped." F. felt a cold 
breeze, and blows on his wrist, but no hand grasped his. 
Immediately afterwards I perceived a head coming out from 
between the cabinet curtains, between Eusapia's head and 
mine. She had removed her head from contact with my 
head, and it was now about eight inches distant, and per- 
fectly visible. 

Various touches concluded the seance, but not the phe- 
nomena. After we had turned up the lights, pulled aside 
the cabinet curtains, examined the cabinet and its contents, 
and were discussing the seance, B. still continued to feel 
hands playing about with his back and side, this, be it ob- 
served, in full light, and when Eusapia was wearily resting 
her head on her two hands on the table. The curtain blew 



Eusapia Palladino 205 

out several times in full light, and under the same conditions. 
Several tilts of the table also occurred. We then asked 
"John" to try and pick one of the strings of the small guitar 
which was standing in the corner of the cabinet. We all 
stood up, including the medium, who was about six inches 
in front of the cabinet curtains, her skirt not touching them, 
and her two feet controlled by those on either side of her; 
her hands also being held. The light was sufficiently good 
to enable us to read small print with ease. We stood thus 
for about a minute, when B. and M. exchanged remarks 
upon some subject bearing on the seance. At that moment 
F. and I, who were listening intently, clearly perceived a 
slight twanging sound of the strings of the guitar, as though 
fingers were playing with them lightly, but were unable to 
pull one of them with sufficient force to make it resound. The 
attempt to play these strings was, however, quite clear and 
audible to F. and myself, who heard it at the same instant. 

After the medium had resumed her chair, we felt her head 
with our hands, to see if the cold breeze was issuing from 
her forehead. We all clearly perceived it with out hands, 
placed at a distance of about three inches from the medium's 
head. F. held his hand over her mouth and nose, and we 
all did likewise, holding our noses and mouths and refrain- 
ing from breathing, and the breeze was still distinctly per- 
ceptible. B. then held a small paper flag to the medium's 
forehead — her nose and mouth, as well as our own, still be- 
ing well covered. The flag blew out several times, and then 
out so forcibly that it turned completely over and wrapped 
itself once round the flagstaff, to which it was attached! 
The objective nature of this breeze was thus established — 
though a thermometer held to her head failed to record any 
lowering of temperature. 



2o6 Eusapia Palladino 

At the conclusion of the sixth seance, we asked the medium 
if we might search her. She at once consented, and pro- 
ceeded to take off her clothes one by one and hand them to 
us for examination. There was certainly no slit or other 
contrivance in the skirt or in the bodice, and we also exam- 
ined her petticoats and other undergarments and felt over 
her body with our hands through the few remaining clothes. 
So far as we could discover, nothing was concealed about 
her person or her clothes. 

I quote the following extract from Mr. Feilding's Note, 
made the day after the seance, since it expresses, more or 
less, the view of all of us who participated in these seances. 
He says in part: 

"After the sixth seance, for the first time I find that my 
mind, from which the stream of events had hitherto run off 
like rain from a mackintosh, is at last beginning to be capable 
of absorbing them. For the first time I have absolute con- 
viction that our observation is not mistaken. I realize as an 
appreciable fact in life that, from an empty curtain, I have 
seen hands and heads come forth, and that from behind that 
empty curtain I have been seized by living fingers, the ex- 
istence and position of the very nails of which were percep- 
tible. I have seen this extraordinary woman sitting outside 
the curtain, held hand and foot, visible to myself, by my 
colleagues, immobile, except for the occasional straining of a 
limb, while some entity within the curtain has over and over 
again pressed my hand in a position clearly beyond her reach. 
I refuse to entertain the possibility of a doubt about it, or 
that we were the victims of an hallucination. I appreciate 
exactly the fact that ninety-nine people out of a hundred will 
refuse to entertain the possibility of a doubt that it could be 
anything else, and, remembering my own belief of a very 
short time ago, I shall not be able to complain, though I shall 
unquestionably be annoyed when I find that to be the case. 
, . . Since writing the above, I have read the notes of C. and 



Eusapia Palladino 207 

B. The former has apparently submitted with the same 
completeness as myself to the evidence of facts. B., who is 
evidently passing through the same stages as I did in my 
earlier seances, toys with the suggestion of an apparatus, by 
way of easing his mind. It would be an interesting problem 
to set before a manufacturer of conjuring machines to de- 
vise an apparatus capable of producing alternately a black, 
flat, profile face, a square face on a long neck, and a 'cello- 
like face on a warty, knobby body, two feet long. Also a 
white hand with movable fingers, a yellowish hand, and a 
hand invisible altogether — all these for use outside the cur- 
tain. Further, for use within, a hand with a practicable 
living thumb, and fingers having nails, capable of reaching 
high above the medium's head, of patting, hitting, and pulling 
hair, and of so vigorously grasping B. by the coat as to up- 
set him into the cabinet. Our manufacturer must so con- 
struct the apparatus that it can be actuated, unseen by a 
somewhat stout and elderly lady, clad in a tight, plain gown, 
who sits outside the curtain, held visibly by hand and foot, 
in such a way as to escape the observation of two practical 
conjurers, clinging about her, and on the lookout for its 
operation. It must further be of such dimensions as to be 
concealed about the lady, while parading herself for inspection 
upon a chair clad in her stays and a short flannel petticoat, 
and it must have the property of penetrating matter suffi- 
ciently well to be able to emerge from its hiding place, either 
through the two plain skirts (apart from the flannel petti- 
coat) and through a close bodice, with a waist belt so tight 
that I cannot get my finger in, making no mention of the 
stays." 



seance 7 

Our seventh seance occurred on the evening of Decem- 
ber 7th. Finding that there was a tendency on the part 
of "the powers that be" to upset the table in the cabinet when 
bringing it on to the seance table, thereby turning all the 



208 



Eusapia Palladino 



musical instruments upon it over on to the floor, we secured 
the table firmly by means of rope fastened to staples, 
driven into the floor, in such a manner that it could not be 
lifted except by the exertion of an immense force, which 
would either snap the rope or pull the iron staples out "by 
the roots." 



Position 



I 



c 



r 

8 



Soon after the seance began a phenomenon occurred which 
has frequently been observed by others, viz: the blowing out 
of her skirt, as though by a strong air current from within. 
The skirt slowly bulged out six or eight inches. All of us, 
including Eusapia, watched it with considerable interest. I 
asked Eusapia if I might touch this. She replied "yes." I 
put my hands down, and felt that there was no solid substance 
under the skirt, causing it to inflate in this manner. We 
ascertained with our hands and with our eyes that Eusapia's 
feet were both securely held, and that they were not produc- 
ing this bulging movement. With her permission we then 
turned back her skirts, examined the leg as far as the knee, 
and the skirt and petticoats beneath it. We found no 
mechanism, and no piece of apparatus, the operation of which 
could in any way account for the facts. We let the dress 



Eusapia Palladino 



209 



fall again and it immediately began to inflate as before. Eu- 
sapia then told Mr. Feilding to sit between the light and her 
skirt, so as to throw it into shadow, when, she said, the 
bulging would become stronger. This incident is interesting, 
serving as it does to indicate the influence of light upon the 
production of the phenomena. These swellings continued 
for some minutes, becoming stronger and stronger, and finally 
dying away. 

Position 11 



B 



Shortly after 10 p.m. I exchanged places with Mr. 
Baggally, who retained control of the right side throughout 
the remainder of the seance. Various minor phenomena oc- 
curred during the first hour, including tilts of the table of 
a remarkable character, curtain phenomena, and movements 
of a small stool outside the cabinet without apparent cause. 
White objects also appeared over her head and shoulder, 
and were perceived by us — the control being perfect. The 
small stool came farther out into the seance room, and con- 
tinued to move, visibly, in response to waves of her hand in 
the air above it. 

At 1 1. 01 Eusapia nodded her head four times in the direc- 
tion of the table, but without touching it. Exactly corre- 



210 Eusapia Palladino 

sponding with each nod, four tremendous bangs, as though 
made by a large wooden mallet, were heard on the table — 
so loud it would have been impossible to duplicate it without 
some mechanical contrivance, such as a hammer. A minute 
later she said she would try to levitate the table, and a par- 
tial levitation resulted. 

At 11.07 w e asked "John" to show himself outside the 
cabinet curtains. Four tilts of the table, meaning "talk," 
responded. We spoke, however, very little, but paid close 
attention to the curtains. In a moment, something misty 
and black shot out about eighteen inches from the cabinet, 
close to Mr. Baggally's head. It came and went so quick- 
ly, however, that we could not distinguish what it was. A 
few minutes later, we heard the table in the cabinet lifted 
a fraction of an inch off the floor and then released again, 
coming down with a bang. It must be remembered that the 
table had been securely fastened down with ropes, and that 
it was impossible to move it. A very considerable force must 
have been exercised to lift it off the floor at all — certainly 
more than Eusapia could have brought to bear with one or 
even with two hands free. We explained to "John" that since 
he had always upset the table and the instruments upon it 
in former seances, we had tied it to the floor on this occa- 
sion, since we wished him to finger and to bring out to us the 
various small objects placed upon it. 

At 11.20 a remarkable manifestation took place — -one of 
the most remarkable of all, perhaps — the description of which 
I quote from our detailed record : 

"C. A bell from the cabinet is lifted from the table 
through the curtains and put upon the medium's head and 
remains there. 

"F. The left hand was visibly in my right all the time on 



Eusapia Palladino 211 

the table, and I heard the bell, which had been on the table 
in the cabinet, began to ring, and then it suddenly appeared 
outside the curtain and came over the medium's head, and 
it hung there and went on ringing. She told me it was tied 
to her head. I felt with my fingers and felt something like 
muslin tying it to her hair. As I was looking at it, I suddenly 
saw a white thing, which I thought was the medium's right 
hand come to untie the bell, because it was uncomfortable, 
ring it hard, and throw it on to the seance table. This was 
within one foot of my nose. I could see the medium's face 
perfectly. 

"B. I saw the bell come out and lie on the medium's 
head, and also saw it thrown from her head on to the table. 
During the whole of this phenomenon her right hand was 
resting on my left hand on the table, and her right foot on 
my left foot." 

During the next few minutes indefinable white objects 
continued to appear over the medium's head — under excel- 
lent test conditions — and when her hands and feet were 
securely held. A brilliant, bluish-green light was perceived, 
which lasted about two seconds. The next minute a simi- 
lar light came outside the curtains of the cabinet and was 
seen to be resting in Eusapia's lap. The table rapped for 
less light. A brilliant luminous point was seen within the 
cabinet about two and a half feet from Eusapia, bluish green 
in color. Another light of a slightly different character ap- 
peared the next minute — this time, however, a small spark- 
ling light, about four or five inches above her head. 

We asked Eusapia to endeavor to obtain an impression of 
a hand in our clay, which we had placed in readiness on the 
small table. She felt F.'s hand, which was resting upon the 
seance table as though she were feeling the clay with hers, 
and replied that the clay was "too wet." 

At this point, Eusapia informed us that some one was com- 



212 Eusapia Palladino 

ing out to kiss Mr. Baggally. The curtain swelled out toward 
him and a clicking sound was made close to his face. It did 
not sound in the least like a kiss, however, which she had said 
it was, but exactly like the sound one would make were 
the thumb and middle finger nails clicked together. This 
was, of course, a highly suspicious circumstance, and we so 
regarded it, in spite of the fact that we repeatedly verified 
the control of the hands, and could even see them lying up- 
on the table while this phenomenon was in progress. 

A small, black, square object then came out, which Eusa- 
pia said was "the head of a man clean shaven." It did not 
resemble a head, however, and was far too small for the head 
of anybody. Mr. Feilding complained to Eusapia that it did 
not look in the least like a head, and that it was, as he ex- 
pressed it, "an outrage upon humanity." Eusapia said : "We 
will try again." The black thing thereupon came out the 
second time, somewhat larger than before, but still not hav- 
ing any resemblance to a human profile. It retired imme- 
diately, and we could, in fact, catch but a fleeting glimpse 
of it. 



SEANCE 8 

It will be remembered that we had partially searched 
Eusapia at the conclusion of the sixth seance. We did not 
feel, however, that our search had been strict and thorough 
— such a search as would enable us to say with confidence 
that nothing was concealed about her person ; and while we 
ourselves felt assured that nothing was in fact concealed, we 
had to have evidence such as would convince others of this 
fact. We desired to obtain the services of one or two ladies 
to make a thorough and proper search, and we accordingly 



Eusapia Palladino 



213 



asked Senora Rocca and Miss Crawford — the two daughters 
of Mr. Marion Crawford — to attend this seance and super- 
vise the searching for us. There were also present at this 
seance Lord Sudeley and Mr. Ryan — so that we had an ad- 
dition of four to our usual number. The sitters were ar- 
ranged as shown in the diagram. The eighth sitting took 
place in the usual room, on the evening of December 10, 
1908. 

Eusapia was taken into a separate room, and, before the 
two ladies, she completely stripped, and handed them, one by 
one, her clothes for inspection. These were thoroughly ex- 
amined, even the linings of the bodice and the skirt being 
searched, and her hair was taken down and put up before 
them. 



P05ITION 


' * 


Position 
e-p 


V 


E.P 


e b , 

# # 


m 


F 


C 

• 




p 






# 





• 




n«5sC 

• 


# 




Mi*** 
# 




• 


ELEY, 




Lord 5 





The seance began at 10.30, and an exceptionally long wait 
occurred before any phenomena of interest took place. At 
10.53 I resigned my control to Mr. Ryan, to see if this might 
beneficially influence the results. But it was not until past 
11 that phenomena began to be noticed. Slight, and then 
more forcible movements of the curtain were the first mani- 
festations of interest. These were followed by several 
touches under conditions of good control, but merely dupli- 



214 



Eusapia Palladino 



eating phenomena seen at previous seances. At this point 
F. and R. change places. 



Position 111 6 

• F 



£0* 



Miss C 



J.ORD 



At 11.55 we saw the first striking manifestation. The 
tin trumpet, which had rested on the small table in the cabi- 
net, appeared in front of the curtains, about a yard distant 
from Eusapia, and crept slowly along Mr. Ryan's arm until 
it arrived on the seance table. A square white patch then 
appeared over Eusapia's head. Immediately afterwards the 
small toy piano was thrown from the cabinet, struck Mr. 
Ryan lightly on the head and rolled to the floor. Eusapia 
was at this moment holding Mr. Ryan by the hand, her right 
hand being held by Mr. Feilding on her lap. Both her feet 
were also held. 

Various lights then manifested, and a white object, which 
was described at the time as resembling "a boiled white 
cabbage," came out from between the curtains and approached 
Mr. Ryan. Again, something tried to lift the small table, 
but finding, apparently, that it was tied, let it go with a 
bang. 

At 11.22, after the appearance of another white, inde- 
finable object over the medium's head, a hand appeared at 
the extreme opening of the left curtain, nearest the window, 



Eusapia Palladino 215 

and about a yard distant from Eusapia. This hand was bear- 
ing the plate of clay which we had placed upon the small 
table, hoping for impressions of hands or faces. The clay 
must have been lifted first of all from the small table, to the 
position at the opening of the curtains, where it was seen 
by us. 

The hand then moved slowly downward and deposited the 
plate of clay on the seance table, taking fully four or five 
seconds in its passage. The hand then seemed to disappear. 
This phenomenon was clearly visible to all of us, and it 
would have been quite impossible for Eusapia to have dupli- 
cated it, even had her left hand been free (1), because she 
could not have reached so far, and (2), had she succeeded 
in doing so, and had she brought the plate of clay on to the 
seance table, she must necessarily have gathered in toward her 
the left-hand curtain, round which her arm must neces- 
sarily have circled. But such was not the case. I noted 
especially that, while the white hand was conveying the 
object from B.i to C.i the curtain remained stationary. 
Mr. Ryan is certain, moreover, that he was, at that mo- 
ment, holding Eusapia's left hand in the middle of the 
table. 

Mr. Baggally then climbed up on to the seance table and 
stretched his hand at least a yard over Eusapia's head, resting 
it against the cabinet curtains. We felt that, were he touched 
under these conditions, it would be proof positive that Eusa- 
pia had not produced the phenomenon by fraud — since she 
could not, with her short arms, reach so high. He felt a 
solid substance pressing against his hand on two or three oc- 
casions, however, which he described as being not solid, but 
resembling the pressure of wind. 

An interesting series of phenomena began at 12.47, the 



216 Eusapia Palladino 

account of which I quote from our detailed notes as fol- 
lows : 

"R. 1 Somebody nudged me in the ribs on the right side. 

"C. A solid substance pushes against my hand. I am 
touched on the left arm. 

"F. Her right hand is two feet above the table in my left 
hand. 

"R. Noises in the cabinet. 

"F. She taps with her right hand on mine, and the tam- 
bourine shakes synchronously inside the cabinet. Her head 
close to me and visible. The same thing has happened again. 

"R. She grips my hand, both resting upon the table, 
her foot pressing mine firmly. 

"C. The bell rings, and has been brought on to the 
top of the medium's head from the cabinet and remains 
there. 

"F. I was holding her right hand on the top of the 
table. I saw the bell arrive on her head. I hold the bell 
up against the curtain and ask John to take it from me. 
I was holding my hand about a foot from her head and to- 
ward the curtain, with my fingers holding it so that they 
projected beyond the bell toward the curtain. Three or 
four fingers took hold of the bell and shook it in my hand. 
I felt the pressure on my fingers. [This is not a strictly 
accurate description. The fingers took hold of my fingers. 
I felt them distinctly as living fingers through the curtain. 
They held my fingers tight, and shook my hand, and with 
it the bell.]" 

Immediately after this several touchings occurred, the cur- 
tain blew out toward me, brushed against my face, and some- 
thing hit me through the right-hand curtain. I was then 
pushed through the curtain and a solid substance came out 
from the cabinet and struck me on the face. A small ob- 
ject then came out past me and landed on the seance table. 

1 In this sitting, R = Ryan. 



Eusapia Palladino 217 

These phenomena followed so rapidly on one another that it 
was almost impossible to dictate the control. F. and R. both 
assert, however, that the hands under their supervision were 
securely held throughout this series of remarkable manifesta- 
tions. 

While I was standing at least a yard in front of the cur- 
tain, a hand came out and touched my hand. I could feel 
the texture of the skin. F. was touched on the left cheek 
by a hand through the curtain, while the medium's right 
hand was resting firmly in his left and while she was grasp- 
ing the forefinger of Mr. Ryan's hand with her left hand — 
fingers and thumb encircling it. 

At 1.05 a.m. a very unusual manifestation occurred, the 
only one of its kind we saw, and which has been very rarely 
recorded in the past history of this case. It throws con- 
siderable light on many of the historical phenomena, render- 
ing highly possible manifestations which have hitherto been 
considered incredible. I quote from our detailed record: 

"C. Two raps are heard in the cabinet. Medium says 
she is tired. 

"F. A white hand has appeared over her head. Oh! it 
has brought a cord. [A small coil of cord was on the top of 
the medium's head, the end of it descending to her left. F. 
handed it to R. and asked him to trace it down.] 

"F. It is fastened to something. Somebody is pulling it. 
[R. traced it down and found it attached to the rung of his 
chair.] 

"F. Two minutes before this had happened she had asked 
me to feel the cord on her left leg, to see whether it was 
fastened. [We had tied her feet to our chairs with rope at 
the commencement of the seance.] I put my finger through 
the loop on her left leg and found that the cord was still 
round it. I did the same thing to the right leg. Shortly 
after that, I put my left hand on the medium's head and 



2i 8 Eusapia Palladino 

she said she was going to rest. I continuously kept my right 
hand on her left. There then appeared a white hand through 
the curtain, which dropped something on the top of her head. 
// proved to be the cord which had previously been fastened 
to the left leg. [I had tied the medium's left leg at the nar- 
rowest part of the ankle with this cord. I made four reef 
knots. The other end of the cord I had attached to the leg 
and rung of the controller's chair, in the same manner — with 
four reef knots — pulled tightly. B.] 

"[F. It did not occur to me when the medium asked me 
to verify the fastening of her feet two minutes before this in- 
cident to do more than ascertain that the ropes were still tied 
round her ankle, which was so, nor did it occur to me when 
the coil dropped on her head, that it could possibly be the 
same cord. When traced by R. to the left leg of his chair, 
her leg was found free. The rope was of such a kind as to 
be difficult to untie. A similar knot on the other foot took 
me about two minutes to untie — using both hands. Even 
supposing that the medium had freed her hand from R., 
unperceived and unremembered by him, it is, to me, in- 
conceivable that she could have stooped down and untied the 
knot with her left hand between the time that I verified the 
fastenings and the appearance of the rope on her head, un- 
noticed by R. and me — the light being amply sufficient to 
follow any action of the kind.] Several touches and a par- 
tial levitation of the table ended the seance." 



seance 9 

Our ninth seance was held on the evening of December 
13, 1908 — the conditions being the same as the last seance, 
with the exception that Messrs. Feilding, Baggally, and my- 
self were alone present. At the last seance, it will be re- 
membered, we waited for more than two hours before any 
manifestations of note took place. At this seance, on the 
other hand, hardly had we seated ourselves at the table than 



Eusapia Palladino 



219 



manifestations began ! Eusapia allowed us to tie up her hands 
and her feet with rope— though she had angrily refused to al- 
low us to do so when we had asked her at the previous 
sitting. The seance began in very good light at 10. 12 p.m. 
I quote from our detailed record — the initial stages of this 
remarkable seance : 



Position Throughout 
EX. 




"Tilts begin almost immediately. 

"F. Table tilts on the legs farthest from her. 

"10.13. Complete levitation of the table. 

"C. The right hand resting on the table, touching mine. 
My wrist being between hers and the edge of the table. Her 
right foot in contact with my right foot. I saw a clear space 
of about nine inches between her dress and the leg of the 
table. 

"B. Complete levitation of the table, for a second time. 
[During dictation of B.'s control.] 

"B. My right hand on both her knees. Her left foot 
touching my right foot. 

"10.14 p.m. F. Complete levitation for the third time 
in full view of us all. 

"B. Another complete levitation! 

"F. Both medium's hands completely on top of the 
table, touching ours. 



220 Eusapia Palladino 

"C. I can see a clear space of about eight inches between 
her dress and the table leg all the way down. 

"B. Right hand on her two knees. My right foot against 
her left foot, and I can see between her left leg and the 
table leg. 

"10.16 p.m. Another complete levitation. 

"F. Right hand off the table altogether. Left hand on 
B.'s, pulling the table up with it, which appeared to stick 
to it. 

"10.17. Another complete levitation of the table. 

"F. First of all a partial levitation, which lasted about 
ten seconds, then a complete levitation off all four legs. Right 
hand touching the table, left hand on B.'s. She raised her 
hand from the table and the table slid sideways in the air 
under B.'s hands. 

"B. Right hand across both her knees. 

"C. Her right hand clenched at first on the table, within 
three inches of my eyes. My left hand across both her knees. 
Right foot on my left foot. I can clearly see a space of at 
least six inches between her dress and the table leg all the 
way down. 

"B. My right knee against her left knee. My right foot 
against her left foot, and I see a clear space between her leg 
and the table leg. 

"[The light was sufficient to read small print with 
comfort, at the farther end of the room. The hands were 
always plainly visible and always situated so that it was clear 
that the table was not lifted by them. The extreme rapidity 
of the levitations made complete description almost impos- 
sible and it was decided to confine the description of the con- 
trol to the feet — the control of the hands being obvious to 
all and description rendered unnecessary. Medium was 
then told that enough levitations had been produced, but 
was asked, before proceeding to further phenomena, to pro- 
duce one more with her feet actually held under the table. 
F. went under table.] 

"F. I have got my hands on both feet. 

"C. The table tilts away from her. My left hand on 



Eusapia Palladino 221 

both her knees. Both hands being flat on the table in full 
view of us. Her wrists not over the edge. Five raps of 
table ask for less light. 

"Light No. 2. 

"F. I have now got my hands on the floor against the 
table legs, and inside them. Her two feet are between my 
hands. Five more tilts of the table ask for still less light. 

"Light No. 3. 

"10.23. Complete levitation of the table. 

"Immediately before levitation took place, medium asked 
F. if he had got her feet all right. 

"F. I had my hands on the floor, between her legs and 
the table legs. Her feet and the whole of her dress were in 
between my hands. 

"C. My left hand on her right knee, her right hand 
being on the top of my left hand, and it did not leave it. 

"B. My right hand on her left knee. Her left hand on 
the top of my right hand. My foot was away from her foot, 
but F. had control of her feet." 



After this series of remarkable levitation phenomena, Mr. 
Feilding came out from under the table. Movements of ob- 
jects in the cabinet occurred one minute after, under condi- 
tions of perfect control. 

The next minute, the small stool, which had remained out- 
side the cabinet, and which was about a yard distant from 
Eusapia, now moved of its own accord and approached her. 
On my side I was continually holding her right hand and 
foot securely; and B., on his side, paid strict attention to the 
hand and foot under his care. In spite of our utmost pre- 
cautions, however, the small stool continued to move about 
over the floor in response to movements of Eusapia's hands, 
made above it. Eusapia then placed B.'s hands on the sur- 
face of the stool, and rested her hand on his. The stool rose 
into the air several times — only B.'s hands resting on it. Eusa- 



222 Eusapia Palladino 

pia removed her hand from the back of B.'s hand altogether, 
and the stool again rose completely into the air about six 
inches. During these movements and levitations of the small 
stool we repeatedly ascertained that Eusapia's feet were well 
held, and that they did not in any way approach the stool. 
One of us rose, walked to the stool, placed his hands complete- 
ly round it, along the carpet and between the stool and the 
body of the medium. We thereby ascertained that there was 
no thread, hair, or connection between the stool and the me- 
dium's body. After we had done so, however, it continued 
to move about in response to waves of Eusapia's hand, made 
in the air, at a distance of some two feet above the stooh 
Several touches were experienced by us shortly after this — 
the first touches we had experienced at any of the seances 
outside the cabinet curtains and in front of the medium. At 
1 1.06 I thought I detected an attempted substitution of feet 
and bent down to verify the fact. I forgot that the me- 
dium's feet had been tied to ours with rope, and the moment 
I became dissatisfied with the foot control, I proceeded to 
ascertain the exact position of the feet. The medium be- 
came extremely irritated, and woke up from a state of semi- 
trance into which she had fallen. She said that, as her feet 
were tied, she did not think that we need worry so particular- 
ly where her feet were. As a matter of fact I have now no 
doubt that I was excessively hypercritical, but my habitual 
skepticism forced me, almost unconsciously, to investigate the 
instant I found anything out of place. On this occasion, how- 
ever, the effects proved disastrous, and served, I believe, to 
partially ruin a seance that had started so propitiously. The 
medium expostulated for three quarters of an hour, and it was 
a long time before she again consented to resume and again 
attempted to go off into the trance state. 



Eusapia Palladino 223 

As soon as the seance was resumed, the small stool again 
began its movements and M., our stenographer, passed his 
hands completely round the stool, before and after it had 
moved, in response to movements of Eusapia's hands. In 
his note he says: 

"I got up and examined the little stool, feeling right round 
it and saw that there was nothing connecting it to the me- 
dium's dress. As I was about to resume my place, I saw the 
little stool again moving and stooped down to watch it. It 
moved in little jerks about a foot sideways. When it had 
finished I again put my hands right round it and found no at- 
tachment. While I was doing this the stool seemed to brush 
up against my coat sleeve as though drawn by a magnet. I 
was again about to sit down when the stool began moving for 
a third time and I examined it again. There was absolutely; 
no possibility of there being any attachment." 

Immediately following these convincing movements of the 
stool, which appeared to us to be obtained under perfect 
test conditions, we obtained a complete levitation of the table. 
The conditions of this levitation were extremely good. An 
outburst of phenomena seemed to occur just at this period, 
which I quote from the detailed record : 

"11.50 p.m. Complete levitation of the table. 

"C. Both hands were on the top of the table. My left 
hand resting on her right knee. Right foot on her left foot 
firmly. I can see a clear space between her dress and the leg 
of the table all the way down. 

"B. My right hand on her left knee. My right foot 
feeling her left foot. There is a space between her leg and 
the table leg. 

"11.58 p.m. F. Standing up at the other end of the 
table, I saw her make gestures with her right hand at a dis- 
tance of about three and a half feet from the small stool. 



224 Eusapia Palladino 

Her left hand being motionless in B.'s, on his corner of the 
table, and the stool advanced in little jerks toward B. 

"C. The curtain has pushed right out on this side about 
three feet. 

"B. I am feeling her left foot with my right foot. 

"C. Control the same as before, the whole of the me- 
dium's hand being visible. [Still light No. 2.] 

"C. The curtain has again pushed out about two feet. 
Her right hand on my left on the table. Right foot on my 
left foot firmly. 

"B. Control same as before, hand and foot. 

" 1 2.01 a.m. Partial levitation of the table. Another 
partial levitation of the table, almost complete. 

"12.02 a.m. The curtain blew out. 

"C. I am holding my hand out toward the curtain. 

"12.03. Five violent tilts of the table ask for less light. 

"12.04. The right curtain has again blown out. [Light 
No. 3.]" 

During the rest of the seance, under perfect conditions of 
control, we all of us, and I especially, experienced a large 
number of remarkable touches, and even grasps by a complete 
hand, the position of the thumb and fingers of which we could 
plainly define. Scattered throughout the sitting, also, were 
numerous levitations, blowings out of the curtains of the cabi- 
net and other remarkable manifestations. I quote from the 
record : 

"12.22. Loud noises in the cabinet. 

"12.23. Medium asked C. if he had been touched. 

"C. I was touched through the curtain as if by a hand. 
Her right hand holding my left. 

"B. Her left hand holding my right hand on her left 
knee. 

"F. Her head is visible to me. I saw the curtain come out 
at the place where C. was touched. 

"12.25 a.m. C. I was touched again as if by a hand 



Eusapia Palladino 225 

through the curtain on the wrist of my right hand as I was 
stroking the medium's forehead with it. 

"C. I am touched again in the same place. Meanwhile 
I have her right hand, of which I feel the thumb and four 
fingers, on the table. 

"B. I am holding her left hand on her left knee. 

"12.26. Complete levitation of the table. 

"F. Note that her face and eyes are visible to me over 
at the opposite end of the table." 

These were a remarkable series of touches, especially those 
on the back of the hand with which I was stroking the me- 
dium's forehead, since I could clearly see both her hands 
on the table and my hand was only a few inches distant from 
my face and quite visible. But still more remarkable phe- 
nomena were to follow. I quote again from our record : 

"12.38. Two raps. 

"C. I am grasped through the curtain by a complete 
hand. At that time her right foot was pressing strongly 
against mine. Fingers of her right hand pressing on my 
left hand on the table, almost in the center of it. 

"B. Her left hand holding my right hand on the table. 
I could see both her hands at the time. Her left foot kick- 
ing against my right foot. 

"12.43. Medium squeezes on C.'s hand and movements 
in the cabinet follow. [Thumps on tambourine.] 

"B. I was holding her left hand with my right hand on 
her knee. 

"C. Mine, holding medium's, is on the table. 

"B. She gives three squeezes of her left hand in my right 
hand, and synchronizing with these three squeezes, we hear 
three thumps on the tambourine. 

"12.45. C. Corresponding to squeezes of the medium's 
hand, the tambourine is thumped. 

"B. My right hand was holding medium's left hand, and 
my right foot was on her left foot. My right knee pressing 
again her left knee. 



226 Eusapia Palladino 

"C. I am holding medium's right hand by the thumb 
on the table. Her right foot on my left completely. 

"12.47. F. I ask 'Carlo' to give me the tambourine. 
[Medium said he would do so, and I moved round behind 
C. F.] 

"B. She held my right hand over the table in front of 
her and made gestures with it in the air and the tambourine 
slid along the floor. 

"C. I am touched again. The same thing has happened 
again. I was touched three times with fingers on my left 
hand. The tambourine then jumped up about ten or twelve 
times inside the cabinet, apparently trying to get to the edge 
of the curtain, and was then pushed outside the cabinet. I 
am grasped very firmly by a hand through the curtain on my 
left arm. I felt the medium's right hand on my left on the 
table, at the same moment that the tambourine was kicking 
about inside the cabinet. 

"B. I am holding her hand on the table. I can see it 
quite clearly. 

"12.51. Medium wishes to touch C, which she does. 

"C. I was grasped just above the left elbow by four 
fingers and a thumb, which pressed very hard indeed. I am 
touched on the left side by a hand. I was holding both the 
medium's hands in both of mine, and she was squeezing 
tightly. Her right foot pressed strongly on my left foot, in 
contact with my right. 

"B. I was holding the wrist of her left hand in my right 
hand on the table in full view of us all and perfectly visi- 
ble. My right knee against her left knee. My right foot 
under her left foot. 

"C. I am holding both medium's hands in both of my 
hands, one being clearly visible and one on the table, 
under the curtain. Absolute control of right foot and leg. 

"1 a.m. C. I am touched on the face by a hand 
through the curtain as the medium kicks to and fro. I 
am again touched on the face by a hand, medium having both 
her legs round my left leg. Her right hand holding my left 
on the table, in the middle, under the curtain. 



Eusapia Palladino 227 

"B. Her left hand holding my right hand on the table, 
which I see clearly. 

"F. Note that heads are visible to me. I am standing 
up between C. and the curtain, holding my right hand on 
C.'s shoulder. 

"1.03. C. I was touched on the left shoulder strongly. 
Medium had both her legs round mine, her right hand hold- 
ing my left under the curtain, in the middle of the table. 

"B. I am holding her left hand with my right hand on 
the table. 

"1.05. The tambourine jumps up apparently about twelve 
times, as if trying to play a tune. 

"B. She squeezes my hand synchronously, in tune with it. 

"F. I have put my hand between the tambourine and 
the medium's knee. [I knelt down on the ground and felt 
right round the tambourine, which was lying near the edge 
of the curtain, behind and to the left of C.'s chair. There 
was no attachment. 

"C. I am touched on the left arm above the elbow. Con- 
trol exactly the same as before. 

"1.06. C. The tambourine jumps and jerks as though 
it tried to get on to my lap. Control the same as before. 

"B. My control absolutely the same as before. 

"1.13. All stand up. F. asks 'John' if he can make an 
impression on the clay. Three tilts of the table respond: 
'Yes.' 

"1.17. The medium is told that it is very late, and that 
if she is unable to do anything else, she must go ; but she re- 
plies: 'The phenomena are not finished yet.' 

"1.24. Something falls over behind the medium. C. 
ascertains that it is the medium's chair. Medium says: 'Do 
not take any notice of that, as I might have done it with my 
foot.' 

"1.30. Something moved in the cabinet. Medium says: 
'Please note that I did not move at all, then.' " 

[Owing to the lateness of the hour, the medium is several 
times asked whether she would not finish. For sometime she 
declines. She is asked whether she can get an impression on 



228 Eusapia Palladino 

the clay; first of all she replied, "They said { y es >' " but after 
long-continued efforts, she said she felt tired, and could do 
no more.] 

BELL INCIDENT 

One most curious incident occurred on the afternoon of 
December 15th — on the evening of which day we held our 
ninth seance. A remarkable physical phenomenon (appar- 
ently) occurred, in the presence of two members of the com- 
mittee only — Eusapia not being present — -and, so far as we 
could discover, paying no particular heed to us at the mo- 
ment. We had suspended a small bell inside the cabinet by 
means of a piece of string, in the hope that "John" might 
ring it during the seance. So far, he had failed to do so, but 
on this memorable afternoon, the bell rang of its own ac- 
cord, swinging violently to and fro on its suspending string — 
without apparent cause, and while only Mr. Baggally and 
myself were in the room ! Indeed, I was in the next room 
at the time, eating an orange, if I remember rightly, while 
Mr. Baggally was standing at the table in the center of the 
room, smoking his pipe and working glycerine and water into 
the clay which we were to use that evening in our attempt 
to obtain impressions of hands and faces. I subjoin, here- 
with, the original notes taken at the time by us, dated and 
signed. 

15th December, 1908. 

"8.45 by C.'s watch. 

"At a certain moment, when Mr. Baggally was working 
up our clay at the small table in the center of the room, C. 
being in the next room, with the door open, the small bell, 
hanging from the string in the cabinet, rang violently. It 
struck against the wood of the doorway — a good two and 
one half feet from the bell. The ringing continued for sev- 



Eusapia Palladino 229 

eral seconds, with violence, and then stopped. B. was at least 
nine feet from the bell at the time of ringing and C. could 
see he did not approach it. Nobody else was in the room 
at the time. As soon as the bell ceased ringing, we called in 
Mr. Ryan, from the next room, who opened the curtains 
and saw (as did we all) that the bell was still swinging on 
its suspending string. The cabinet was empty save for a 
chair, standing inside it. We all three heard and saw this 
remarkable bell phenomenon. 

" Signed: W. W. Baggally, 

" Hereward Carrington." 

"I was adding my final note to my previous evidence when 
I heard the bell in the next room ring. I attached no im- 
portance to this (thinking that B. and C. were testing the 
apparatus). Mr. Baggally just then rushed in, made me 
come round and open the curtain. I then saw that the bell 
was still swinging on its string. I noted the time (deduct- 
ing y± minute for time in transit) as twenty-eight minutes 
to nine p.m. Mr. Baggally's hands were covered with clay, 
which he was puddling. 

«, s /.*/o8." "J AMES Ryan -" 

"As to this bell incident, I can express no opinion, not 
having been present. I came in amidst the general consterna- 
tion. It is infinitely painful to me, as Hon. Secretary of that 
most staid body, the S. P. R., to record the state of emotion in 
which I found my colleagues. 

"As to who was responsible for it, we shall never know. 
If it was 'John,' he reveals a sense of humor on which he 
deserves sincere congratulation; if a more fleshly jester, the 
chambermaid and the boots must divide nry homage. The 
only way that I can imagine the bell ringing as it did (it was 
still swinging as I came in) was by its having fallen from 
a position of unstable suspense, from which it was dislodged 
by some concussion. It may have occurred to the cham- 
bermaid, or the boots, to balance it on a certain nail in the 
hopes that it might tumble dramatically later on. Long 



230 Eusapia Palladino 

practice has failed to disclose any other method. The cham- 
bermaid and the boots, delicately questioned, deny blankly. 
The chambermaid, indeed, is terrified at our cabinet and 
could barely be persuaded to play 'Eusapia' in some imitation 
photographs of phenomena we took yesterday. The boots 
is too stolid for such imaginative leaps. 'John' himself is 
unquestionable. Taking it all round it is the most perplex- 
ing, indeed, annoying, dilemna of this most perplexing month. 

ten , „ " EVERARD FEILDING." 

"December 17, 1908. 

bell incident, December 15, 1908 
By W. W. Baggally 

I was standing alone at 8.45 p.m. on the evening of Decem- 
ber 15th, by the side of a table in the seance room preparing 
some clay for the purpose of obtaining, if possible, impres- 
sions of "John's" fingers, or hand, at the sitting which Eusa- 
pia Palladino was to give us on that evening when suddenly 
a bell in the cabinet gave a bang against some woodwork 
and rang loudly. I was standing at the time two and three 
quarter meters from the closed curtains of the cabinet. I 
looked at Mr. Carrington, who was just within the open 
doorway of his room and said to him: "Do you hear that?" 
He exclaimed: "By Jove!" I then rushed into my room 
where Mr. Ryan was seated writing some notes and I told 
him what had occurred. He came with me into the seance 
room, opened the curtains and we all saw the bell swinging 
violently with the string that it was suspended by. I had 
anticipated that this string had broken and that the bell had 
fallen to the ground; my surprise was great to see the bell 
still hanging and swinging violently. I asked Mr. Carring- 
ton to make a note of the occurrence at once and also Mr. 
Ryan. 

After the swinging of the bell had ceased it occurred to 
me that possibly some one had hung or balanced it on the 
horizontal cord to which the string (by which the bell hung) 
was attached, and that if this were so a jerk might cause the 
bell to fall and ring. I found by experiment that I could 



Eusapia Palladino 231 

not balance the bell on the cord but that I could balance it 
on a nail in the cabinet, or hang it on the cord by a small 
ornamental knob that was on the side of the handle. When 
so balanced or hung the bell required a jerk to cause it to 
fall. No one was near the cabinet to give this jerk. The 
incident has no evidential value, but is very perplexing. It 
is strange that it should have occurred during the course of 
the seances. 

ADDITION TO BELL INCIDENT 

''This bell incident should perhaps be taken in conjunction 
with one which occurred after, I think, the fifth seance, 
hitherto not mentioned. I had gone to bed and to sleep. I 
was presently awakened by C, who came in saying that from 
his bed in the next room he heard rappings in mine through 
the open door. They still continued and I rose and went 
with C. to the cabinet whence they came. They were slow, 
deliberate raps, apparently on the woodwork near the win- 
dow. They went on for about a quarter of a minute while 
we stood there. Unfortunately the light was then turned 
up and the curtain withdrawn and they immediately stopped. 

"Eusapia, when told of this, declared it must have been 
her 'fluid' which sometimes stayed behind. Perhaps — or a 
beetle. I do not know. 

" E. Feilding." 



SEANCE 10 

We had determined to devote the tenth seance to obtain- 
ing photographs of levitations, and perhaps other phenomena, 
and after the brilliant results at the ninth seance, we had 
great hopes of obtaining some interesting photos as the result 
of this seance. We accordingly arranged with some pho- 
tographers to come and take flashlight photographs of the 
phenomena as they occurred. We stationed them in the 
next room with their apparatus, flashlight, magnesium, etc., 



232 



Eusapia Palladino 



and partly closed the folding doors, leading between the two 
rooms. Our plan was to notify them by means of a given 
signal when phenomena were about to occur (Eusapia was 
to warn us in advance) and we should then cry out at the 
critical moment and obtain a flashlight of a levitation, or 
whatever the phenomenon might be. 

We had also invited to this seance Professor Galeotti, 
who had attended our fourth seance, and Mr. Ryan, who 
had been present at the eighth. Messrs. Feilding and Ryan 
lay down on the floor, and each held one of the medium's 
feet. Professor Galeotti and Mr. Baggally assumed control 
of her hands, and I sat at the opposite end of the seance 
table, getting a clear view of the general proceedings. 



Position I 

F E-P P 



Position II 

E-P 



5 



It is rather amusing to relate that, after all our prepara- 
tions, we obtained at this seance no results worth noting! 
Several times Eusapia informed us that phenomena were 
about to take place, and we opened the doors leading into 
the next room and warned the photographers that they were 
to be ready for the given signal. It never came! Once the 
magnesium was exploded by mistake and Eusapia nearly had 



Eusapia Palladino 233 

a fit of hysterics. Several times feeble levitations and tilts 
took place, but they came without warning, and could not 
be photographed. The curtains were blown out on several 
occasions, and we obtained a number of remarkable raps on 
the table; but, compared with the previous seances, this one 
must be set down as a complete failure. 

This failure cannot be due, as the sceptic might think, 
to the fact that Eusapia feared the camera or felt that a 
photograph might disclose some trick, because she has often 
been photographed before by other investigators. When we 
asked her if she had any objection to our taking flashlight 
photographs of the phenomena, she replied that she had not, 
and we are assured that she was sincere in her statement, 
for she had often allowed photographs to be taken under 
very similar conditions. No; we must assume that the 
force was weak on this occasion, and, because of the lack of 
it, the seance was a complete and dismal failure. It was a 
great pity that this should have been so, since it effectually 
prevented us from obtaining any photographs of the phe- 
nomena in actual progress. But it could not be avoided. 



SEANCE II 

The eleventh seance I did not attend, having been com- 
pelled to leave Naples and return to New York on certain 
matters of a private nature which called me away. To this 
seance, which took place on the evening of December 19, 
1908. Messrs. Feilding and Baggally, who had remained, 
invited Mrs. and Miss Hutton, two English ladies, and 
M. Zingaropoli, who had already obtained a number of 
seances with Eusapia and written several short reports upon 
her and her phenomena. Mrs. Hutton, who was said to 



234 



Eusapia Palladino 



be "an exceptionally keen observer," assumed control of the 
left side of the medium while Mr. Feilding controlled her 
right hand and foot. The seance began at 10.05 P - M « 



Position 1 

E-P 

# 



MRt).H 
* 



# H 



Three minutes later the tilts became violent, and the next 
moment a complete levitation of the table occurred. Bulg- 
ings of the dress and swellings of the curtain occurred a 
few moments later. Lights and raps on the sitters' chairs 
followed. 

At 11.02 B. climbed on to the seance table, at the medium's 
request. Immediately he had done so, a complete arm came 
out and touched his arm. It was far too high for the 
medium to have reached. He was then touched by a hand 
several times, the fingers of which he could feel. At this 
time his outstretched hand was at least three feet above the 
medium's head. At this stage of the seance the exact posi- 
tion of the medium's hands was verified, and they were 
found to be resting on opposite corners of the small table — 
a distance of about nine or ten inches separating them. At 
11.09, just as B. was getting down from the table, a large 
hand came out, grasped his sleeve and nearly pulled him off 
the seance table into the cabinet. 

A few minutes after the occurrence of these phenomena 



Eusapia Palladino 235 

the curtains of the cabinet were drawn aside and a white 
object — described at the time as resembling "a handful of 
white dough" — appeared at the opening of the curtains 
about three feet from the medium's head. The position of 
the medium's hands rendered any substitution impossible, as 
they were held on opposite corners of the seance table, and 
the curtain, which had blown out over it, remained separat- 
ing the two hands. 

Several more touches were experienced under perfect con- 
ditions of control. A black hand came out and grasped 
Mrs. H. visibly. She saw the hand approach her and finally 
felt it as it grasped her body. A black head, the features 
of which were visible, then appeared — coming out from 
behind the curtains. The medium's head was resting against 
Mr. Feilding's at the moment this phenomenon occurred, 
and both her hands were accounted for. 

At 11.38 an extremely interesting series of phenomena 
occurred, the record of which I quote from the detailed 
notes : 

"Medium asks F. to pinch him. 

"F. 1 I am now pinching her. 

"Mrs. H. I am pinched on my right arm. 

"F. I am pinching again. 

"H. Both at the same time now. 

"F. I pinched the medium and Mrs. Hutton felt a 
pinch simultaneously, but not always; that is to say, some- 
times I pinched and she did not feel the pinch." 

B. and F. changed places soon after this, but touches con- 
tinued to be felt, chiefly by Mrs. Hutton. At one time, 
however, a hand was active in both B.'s and Mrs. H.'s laps 

1 Besides the usual symbols, in this stance, H = Mrs. Hutton, Z = M. Zingar- 
opoli. 



236 



Eusapia Palladino 



at the same moment. The medium's hands were held on 
opposite corners of the table when this was taking place. 
Both hands were also visible to F. and Mrs. H. 



Position If 



z 




MRb.fi 



M^sH 



Several more remarkable touches were experienced under 
perfect conditions of control; then the following incident 
occurred at 12.11 : 

"F. Mrs. H.'s left hand was seized by a hand by the 
wrist and dragged across the table to touch B.'s face. 
"B. Oh ! Here's the hand again. I saw it that time." 

At 12.26 one of the most striking phenomena of the 
whole series took place, since it would have been utterly 
impossible for the medium to have accomplished it, even 
granting that she had released one hand. M., the stenog- 
rapher, who had the clearest view of this phenomenon, 
described it in the following terms: 

"As the control was no longer to be given in full, I had 
stood up to try to see some of the phenomena and was stand- 
ing behind to the right of Mrs. H. I was looking down 
at the little stool which was on the floor about a foot from 
the curtain and about two and a half feet from the medium's 
leg, and wondering whether anything would happen. Sud- 



Eusapia Palladino 



237 



denly, as I was looking, I saw it approach the curtain and 
the curtain go out toward it. It then climbed very slowly 
indeed up the curtain, horizontally, one corner only pointing 
in and touching the curtain on the outside. It gave me the 
impression of being drawn up as if by a kind of magnet on 
the other side of the curtain. // slid past the curtain, which 
remained motionless. I felt up the curtain as it was climb- 
ing up on both sides of the stool, but not between the stool 
and the curtain, as I was afraid of interfering with the 
movements. There was nothing tangible behind. When 
it had climbed up to a distance of about one and a half feet 
above Mrs. H.'s shoulder it seemed to turn, and drawing the 
curtain with it, went over Mrs. H.'s shoulder on to the 
seance table. At the moment it was turning I was curious 
to verify the position of the medium's left hand. I began 
by Mrs. H.'s shoulder, felt all down her arm, discovered she 
was holding the medium's right hand, which I felt right up 
to the medium's shoulder. On bringing my hand down 
again to the medium's hand she made a violent movement 
as if to push it away and said: 'Somebody is breaking the 
current, FiliI 



Position [ff 



* 



B 



MRS.H 



Miss H 



Position IV 



MR5. 




M»5S H 



B. and Z. here changed places for a short period, but B. 
again assumed control of her right hand after a few minutes. 

B. continued to receive touches on his hand and arm, 
both the medium's hands being securely held and visible; 



238 Eusapia Palladino 

and at 1 a.m. he was grasped by a complete hand while 
he was holding both the medium's hands in his — as I held 
them in the ninth seance. He remarked at the time: 

"I have got both her hands now. Yes, it has touched me 
again. It is an absolute proof to me that this hand is not 
the hand of the medium. I have got both her thumbs. I 
am holding her right hand in my left hand, my right hand 
is on the right end of the table holding her left. This hand 
is still playing about with me. 

"F. B.'s left hand is now lying on the corner of the table 
and a hand from inside the curtain plays with it. Mean- 
while he is holding the two thumbs of the medium in his 
right hand visible to me. 

"B. Oh! It is touching me again. I have verified the 
foot control.' ' 

At 1. 1 5 the medium said she was tired, and the seance 
officially terminated. Several raps, under excellent condi- 
tions of control, were, however, obtained; the account of 
which reads as follows: 

"Lights are gradually turned up, but medium still keeps 
her place as also do B. and H. After a time: 

"B. Medium makes three gestures toward the door and 
three noises are heard in it. 

"M. This in light No. 1. Next room door open with 
full electric light on. 

"H. I heard them. 

"B. Several times medium makes gestures and each time 
raps are heard in the door. These gestures and raps were 
made a considerable number of times, finishing by four large 
gestures and four loud raps." 

[F. B. called me in from the other room. I asked 
medium to repeat the raps. It seemed as though the force 
were expended. She made three or four gestures and no 
raps followed. Then she made a final gesture and a loud 



Eusapia Palladino 239 

rap followed. It appeared to me distinctly to come from 
the door beside which I was standing; her feet at least three 
feet from the door and her hand, as she made the gesture, 
did not approach to within six inches of it; There was a 
clear space between the whole of the medium and the door.] 



CHAPTER V 

RESUME OF THEORIES ADVANCED TO EXPLAIN THESE 
PHENOMENA 

Before we can profitably discuss any of the scientific or 
philosophical theories that have been advanced to explain 
the facts based upon the supposed genuineness of the phe- 
nomena, it is, of course, necessary for us, first of all, to 
consider and successfully exclude all purely normal explana- 
tions. 

Apart from the notion that the investigators of Eusapia 
have deliberately falsified the facts — a notion which cannot 
be seriously entertained at this date — there remain only two 
normal explanations which can be advanced. These are: 
hallucination and fraud. 

Now, I contend that hallucination, as an explanation of 
these facts, is absolutely excluded by the nature of the evi- 
dence. It might conceivably be an explanation of some few 
of the facts, but could not be held to explain the greater 
number of them. We should have to assume (and for this 
there is no warrant whatever) that Eusapia, without speak- 
ing a word — frequently, while she is in deep trance, and 
absolutely quiescent — can so influence her sitters as to cause 
them to see sights and hear noises which had no basis what- 
ever in reality! Were one disposed to press this theory, he 
would find that there is no analogy whatever in hypnotic 
cases or in historic cases of similar type. I discussed this 
question of possible hallucination in connection with the 

240 



Eusapia Palladino 241 

mediumship of D. D. Home at some length in my Physical 
Phenomena of Spiritualism, pp. 386-93. I there pointed 
out that, although there were a number of facts which 
tended to support such a theory, there were, on the contrary, 
numerous other facts tending to disprove it, and which, in 
fact, were cumulatively so strong as to offset and disprove 
this hypothesis. I further analyzed the performances of the 
Hindu Yogis and fakirs in connection with this question of 
hallucination and found that there was but little evidence 
in favor of any such theory — while the difference between 
the performances of the Hindu fakirs, as reported, and the 
phenomena of Home were many and obvious throughout. 1 
While the fakir performs his experiments by prefacing 
them with various conjurations, incantations, the burning 
of incense, etc., the modern medium does not resort to any 
such devices (or, at least, Home and Eusapia cannot be said 
to have done so), but, on the contrary, they remain passive 
throughout, and do not attempt to suggest to their sitters 
the phenomena which are to take place. It might be urged 
that Home did occasionally suggest phenomena to his sit- 
ters; but the same cannot be said of Eusapia, since she very 
rarely speaks and when she does it is almost invariably about 
some matter-of-fact subject not connected with the seance. 
Those who contend, therefore, that Eusapia could by such 
means induce full-blown hallucinations in a large circle of 
sitters are bound to prove their theory, since they would 
find no support whatever from any analogy drawn from 
hypnotically induced hallucinations, or hallucinations that 
are the result of any process of suggestion. 

Throughout the seances we were in a perfectly calm and 
critical attitude of mind, closely observing all that took 

1 See, in this connection, my pamphlet entitled Hindu Magic. 



242 Eusapia Palladino 

place, while on the constant lookout for fraud. It would 
be hard to conceive an attitude of mind further removed 
from suggestibility than ours. We were active, alert, and 
intent on controlling the phenomena rather than letting 
them control us! Further, it must be remembered that 
Eusapia speaks no English and very little French, so that all* 
her remarks had to be translated to me (I speak no 
Italian), and yet I saw or failed to see all that Mr. Feilding 
and Mr. Baggally did — both of whom speak Italian and 
could understand Eusapia at first hand. It is hardly con- 
ceivable that any suggestion made by Eusapia could take 
effect under these circumstances, or, at any rate, if any critic 
thinks so, the responsibility is thrown upon him of proving 
his case. There is no analogous case in the whole history 
of psychical research. Even if D. D. Home succeeded in 
hallucinating some of his sitters, the case would be very 
different with Eusapia. Suppose that Eusapia said, "See! 
There is a head!" pointing in a certain direction. This 
remark would have to be translated to me — into English- 
before I would know what it meant, and this waiting and 
translation of the remark would surely take the edge off 
any suggestion that the medium might make. It is a most 
difficult thing to induce full-blown hallucinations in a good 
hypnotic subject, and even when he is thoroughly under 
control, he frequently refuses to take the suggestion. This 
being so, how are we to believe that three men, who have 
never been hypnotized, who are not in a suggestible, but, on 
the contrary, in a very positive frame of mind, can be 
hallucinated in this simple manner? The thing is incredible. 
But there is another answer to the critics who would urge 
hallucination as an explanation of the facts. Eusapia very 
rarely makes suggestions of the kind, and when she does 



Eusapia Palladino 243 

they are given in a dreamy, far-away voice, very different 
from the positive, convincing tone of the hypnotic operator. 
In all our sittings, we do not remember that Eusapia directly 
suggested to us more than three or four phenomena, and it 
is interesting to note that, on at least one occasion, we did 
not see what she indicated, or rather what she said would 
happen did not happen and she admitted that it had not 
taken place. If any phenomenon took place, we all saw it 
at one and the same time; and if a hand was seen by one 
of us and not by all, it was for the simple reason that the cur- 
tain or some material object was between the hand and the 
onlooker. Everything indicated that the facts observed by 
us were objective in character, and that none of them were 
subjective. We felt and still feel that it would only be 
necessary for the critic to attend a few seances with this 
medium in order to be assured of that fact. 

But there is still more conclusive evidence that the phe- 
nomena witnessed in the presence of Eusapia are not sub- 
jective in their nature, or the result of any process of 
hallucination. These phenomena have been photographed, 
and it is to be assumed that the camera and the sensitive 
plate cannot be hypnotized in the same way as a human 
being! Numerous cases are on record in which levitations 
of tables and other phenomena have been photographed, and 
there is no longer any doubt as to the objective character of 
some of these phenomena — whatever the explanation may 
be; it is certain that facts, apparently supernormal, have 
occurred and have been photographed. Additional evidence 
is furnished by those cases in which records of the phenomena 
have been obtained by instrumental means. The actual 
occurrence of a phenomenon has been proved, e.g., by means 
of revolving cylinders, electrical apparatus, and other devices 



244 Eusapia Palladino 

which have checked the progress of the phenomena by purely 
automatic means. Henceforth, therefore, no critic of these 
phenomena, whatever theory he may choose to hold regard- 
ing them, can contend that hallucination is an adequate ex- 
planation of the facts, and it must accordingly be aban- 
doned. 

Now let us turn to the second possible normal explana- 
tion of the facts — namely, fraud. It is far more difficult 
to combat this theory than the preceding one, and it is in 
fact a vera causa, inasmuch as Eusapia has been known to 
defraud her sitters whenever she could, and all investigators 
have found that, were she permitted, she would occasionally 
release one hand or one foot, and endeavor to produce 
phenomena with it. This happened at our own sittings, 
and has doubtless occurred more or less at every series of 
sittings held by other investigators. To the man-in-the- 
street it would appear that this effectually bars all further 
scientific investigation. If a medium has been caught trick- 
ing, he would urge, she is a fraud and need be investigated 
no longer! It is useless to look for genuine phenomena in 
the presence of a fraudulent medium. In spite of the ap- 
parent rationality of this argument, however, all those in- 
vestigators who have had much experience with Eusapia, 
contend that this argument is not valid in her case and that 
genuine phenomena do occur in her presence, if fraud be 
prevented, and she is controlled with sufficient accuracy to 
prevent her from releasing her hands and feet and produc- 
ing or attempting to produce fraudulent manifestations. 
The reason for this attempted fraud on her part I shall 
endeavor to state presently. Just now I need only say that 
fraud alone is incapable of accounting for all the phenomena 



Eusapia Palladino 245 

that have been observed in her presence from time to time 
in the past. 

Take, for example, the following instances. In their 
Report on the ile Roubaud phenomena, the savants there 
experimenting recorded certain occurrences that took place 
when both hands, both feet, and the head of Eusapia were 
adequately held — e.g., in the following instance : x 

"A covered wire of the electric battery came out on to 
the table and wrapped itself round R.'s and E.'s hands, and 
was pulled until E. called out. Thenceforth R. held her 
head and body, M. kept one hand and both feet, while L. 
held the other hand, and in this position E. made several 
spasmodic movements, each of which was accompanied or 
followed by violent movements of the neighboring round 
table." 

"L., holding both hands of E., was distinctly touched as by 
a hand on the shoulder and back of head. The hairy mass 
was again felt by him." 

"L. was then permitted to hold both hands and both feet, 
and he was then touched twice on the back and grasped 
distinctly on the left arm. E. then held up one of L.'s 
hands, and with it made two small movements and with 
each movement a chair not far distant grated along the floor 
as if pushed or pulled." 

"While Lodge held both the medium's hands on the table 
and also her head leaning over on him away from the 
chalet and while Richet held both her feet, the suspended 
chalet was heard to be wound up partially three times with 
brief pauses, making four seconds in all — as heard and re- 
corded by Bellier." 

It will be observed that in some of the above instances 
both hands and both feet, as well as the head of the medium, 
were adequately held when the phenomenon took place, and 

1 R. stands for Richet ; M. for Myers ; L. for Lodge ; O. for Ochorowicz; 
and E. for Eusapia. 



246 Eusapia Palladino 

are accounted for in the notes. Now it is only rational to 
suppose that if a man is intrusted with the safe-keeping 
of both the medium's hands, he knows when he has these 
two hands, and he would not be liable to confuse them with 
one hand. If the two hands are being held by different 
sitters, who are not on the constant lookout for fraud, who 
are not aware of the tricks resorted to by Eusapia in order 
to substitute one hand for two, it is at least conceivable that 
the hands had been approximated during the seance and that 
substitution had taken place. But when, as here, we find 
that both hands have been held by the same investigator, 
one in each of his, and while both feet and the head have 
been held by other investigators, it would really appear in- 
conceivable that any substitution could have taken place, or 
that the medium could have induced the sitters controlling 
her hands and feet to believe that they were holding one 
hand and one foot under such conditions! It is, I repeat, 
inconceivable ; and doubly so when we remember the scientific 
eminence of her investigators, who were all well aware of the 
possible methods of trickery and on the constant lookout for 
it; and when, moreover, the light was sufficiently abundant 
to enable them to see as well as to feel the hands they were 
holding and to observe a clear, lighted space between the 
medium's body and the object moved. 1 

In our own seances I am absolutely certain that fraud 
was not and could not have been employed in the vast 
majority of cases. Not only did we feel the hands con- 

1 1 think it should be added here that I had the pleasure of discussing these 
phenomena with Professor Lombroso, at Turin; with MM. Flammarion, Max- 
well, Yourievitch, Courtier, etc., in Paris, and in every instance a full belief in 
the reality of the phenomena had remained with the investigators. None of 
them had found any new indications of fraud whatever, or any symptom that 
would tend to cause them to change their opinion as to the reality of these 
phenomena. 



Eusapia Palladino 247 

trolled by as, not only did we encircle them with our hands, 
trace the arm to the body, and ascertain from the relative 
position of the thumb and fingers which hand we were 
holding, but we could frequently see, as well as feel, the 
medium's hands resting in ours upon the table or stretchy 
before us perfectly visible. When it is sufficiently light to 
see and not only feel the hand; when one can see the very 
texture of the flesh, the finger nails, the distance between 
the fingers, etc., it is really absurd to talk of substitution, 
since it would be as impossible to produce any of these 
phenomena unobserved as it would be to do so in full day- 
light and during the course of a social chat. When the 
light is sufficiently abundant to see as well as feel the hands, 
the head, the feet, and all portions of the medium's body; 
when the medium is being securely held on both sides by 
skeptical investigators, who are themselves conjurers, and 
who have exposed numerous mediumistic tricks; when, in 
addition to all this, the medium's hands and feet have 
remained securely tied with rope to the hands and feet of 
the investigators on either side of her — I repeat, it is absurd 
to talk of fraud when phenomena have been produced under 
such circumstances. I quote a few instances from our own 
detailed record, showing how complete was our control of 
the medium at the very moment of the production of an 
important phenomenon. 

U F. I have asked the medium whether I could feel the 
hand also (which we had felt through the curtain). She 
replied. 'Yes.'' F. stands to the left of C. and leans over 
with his left hand outstretched about two and a half feet 
above and to the left of the medium's head. Immediately 
after: 

U F. I am touched by something directly upon the point 
of mv finger. 



248 Eusapia Palladino 

"12. 1 1 a.m. F. I am touched again. I am taken hold 
of by fingers and I can feel the nails quite plainly. [F. 
My forefinger was pressed hard by three separate fingers 
above it and a thumb below through the curtain. I felt the 
nails quite distinctly as they pressed into my finger. Decem- 
ber 6, 1908.] 

"C. Her head pressing against my head. I am abso- 
lutely holding her left hand upon the table. Both her legs 
are around my right leg under the chair. 

"B. I am absolutely certain that her right hand is on my 
left hand on her right knee. 

"F. I am touched again. Grasped this time as though 
by the lower part of a thumb and fingers. 

"B. I am touched gently on my hand and at the same 
moment I am touched by a hand on my shoulder. Also the 
curtain came out as though struck violently by a hand from 
within." 

At 12.24 the following phenomenon took place: 

"C. I am touched. Oh, my hair is pulled by a complete 
hand through the curtain! Medium's head resting against 
mine, medium's left hand [control stated but omitted in 
stenographic notes], the whole of her left arm controlled 
by my right arm and her left foot on my right foot. 

"B. Medium's right hand is on my left hand on the 
table. I am sure it is her right hand, as I can feel her 
thumb. Her right foot is on my left foot, and I can feel 
the side of her leg against my leg. 

"F. When Carrington was touched I saw the curtain 
come right out over the medium's head." 

Now it would appear to me that, unless the skeptic 
chooses to believe that we have deliberately falsified the facts, 
there is no other alternative in such cases than to accept the 
only logical conclusion, and to believe that genuine phe- 
nomena were produced. Both hands and both feet were 
securely held; both arms were under control; both feet and 



Eusapia Palladino 249 

the legs as far as the knees were also completely under con- 
trol. The same may be said of the medium's head, which 
was resting against my head. Farther, the light was suffi- 
ciently good to enable us to see the hands we were holding. 
We would lift them up to within six inches of our eyes and 
examine their texture in detail — ascertaining that stuffed 
gloves or dummy hands were not held by us, and we manip- 
ulated the hands in such a way that we forced responsive 
squeezes or pressures from the medium's hands — showing 
that the hands we were holding were really living hands, 
and were not mere dummies. We ascertained that these 
hands were connected with her body by tracing their con- 
nection with our free hands. Further, be it observed, a 
substitution of hands would have been impossible; first, 
because one hand was held in her lap, while the other was 
held upon the surface of the table. This was done pur- 
posely and in order to avoid any possibility of approximating 
the hands. Secondly, we generally held Eusapia's hand by 
the thumb or by encircling the whole of her hand in ours. 
By this means it was possible to tell which hand one was 
holding — because of the relative position of the thumb 
and fingers. When, therefore, phenomena took place un- 
der such circumstances, I think we were quite justified 
in asserting that fraud is incapable of explaining the facts 
and that, whatever their ultimate explanation may be, 
we shall have to seek elsewhere for it than in the sim- 
ple hypothesis of trickery and fraudulent substitution of 
hands. 

Before concluding this discussion of fraud and its possibil- 
ities, however, I wish to answer, in a general way, one or 
two serious critics of these phenomena, by way of illustration. 



250 Eusapia Palladino 

I shall choose one of the most recent and authoritative of 
these. 

In the Proceedings of the S. P. R., for February, 1909, 
Mrs. Sidgwick published her review of Professor Morselli's 
book, Psicologia E Spiritismo, and in her review she answered 
several critics of the Cambridge experiments, and stated her 
views — and not only hers, but, I feel justified in saying, those 
of the majority of the S. P. R. officials — of Eusapia Palla- 
dino's mediumship. Mrs. Sidgwick regards Professor Mor- 
selli as "a good and careful observer" who is aware that 
Eusapia Palladino does sometimes trick, and who has, in 
fact, "himself sometimes detected her in trickery, or what 
looks suspiciously like it." As a matter of fact, Professor 
Morselli estimated that less than ten per cent, of her phe- 
nomena were due to fraud (Vol. I, p. 312), the remaining 
ninety per cent, being genuine phenomena. 

Mrs. Sidgwick emphasizes on several occasions her opinion 
that it is useless to speculate as to the nature of the phe- 
nomena — i.e., whether or not they are spiritistic in character, 
or whether they represent "some unknown biological law" 
— until the facts themselves have been established. Until 
all normal explanations (e.g., trickery) have been eliminated 
and the phenomena proved to exist, it is useless to speculate 
concerning them. I think Professor Morselli would agree 
with this, but it must be remembered that, in his estimation 
at least, the phenomena have been definitely proved, so far 
proved that there is no longer any doubt in his mind concern- 
ing their reality, and, to himself, he is accordingly justified in 
theorizing as to their origin and nature. I must say that be- 
fore I obtained my sittings I, too, took Mrs. Sidgwick's view 
— writing in my Coming Science, p. 382: "Personally, I 
think that it is premature to speculate on the origin and na- 



Eusapia Palladino 251 

ture of such phenomena as those presented by Eusapia Palla- 
dino. The facts are not yet sufficiently well established to 
warrant any speculations of the kind, though one can well 
see how it would be a temptation to offer such speculations 
when one has been thoroughly convinced of the nature and 
genuineness of the phenomena." 

My own sittings convinced me finally and conclusively that 
genuine phenomena do occur, and, that being the case, the 
question of their interpretation naturally looms before me. 
While Mrs. Sidgwick's attitude is, therefore, justified in so 
far as it represents the position of one as yet unconvinced, 
it does not necessarily indicate the position of one fully con- 
vinced, as I became, and as Professor Morselli became — as 
the result of his sittings. 

I cannot agree with Mrs. Sidgwick, moreover, when she 
says that the hypothesis of the agency of spirits would not 
render Eusapia's phenomena more intelligible. For the minor 
phenomena, there is certainly no need for such a theory ; in- 
deed, the facts seem to point against it (p. 268) ; but for the 
more important phenomena of materializations, etc., such, e.g., 
as those quoted on p. 147, I think that not only is the spirit- 
istic hypothesis justified as a working theory, but it is, in fact, 
the only one capable of rationally explaining the facts. Cer- 
tainly we should not be entitled to disregard it; far less should 
we contend that the hypothesis is superfluous — when a large 
number of the facts point to it as their only rational ex- 
planation. 

Mrs. Sidgwick is right in saying that there is a great uni- 
formity and sameness about Eusapia's seances. Certainly this 
would argue that she is only capable of producing a limited 
number of phenomena by fraudulent means. But we might 
also argue that this sameness pointed to the genuine charac- 



252 Eusapia Palladino 

ter of the seances — inasmuch as the power which produced 
the phenomena was probably capable of producing only a 
certain number of phenomena within a limited range. More- 
over, the fact that there is this sameness should facilitate the 
detection of fraud, when once it is known to exist, and 
when we know precisely the kind of fraud to look for. 

But it is not altogether true that Eusapia's seances have 
a sameness about them. In our own series of sittings, fresh 
phenomena were added at every seance, and the phenomena 
became more startling and convincing, took place at greater 
and greater distances from Eusapia, and we came nearer and 
nearer to obtaining full-form materializations as the seances 
progressed — inasmuch as we obtained no materializations at 
all during the first seance, and but feeble ones during the 
first three or four, but they became more numerous and 
stronger as the series progressed, until finally distinct heads 
and white tangible hands touched us outside the curtains, and 
in front of Eusapia — whereas, at first, these hands had only 
ventured to touch us through the curtain. When, therefore, 
we find that, even in a short series of sittings, materializa- 
tions of parts of a body may be obtained, it is only reason- 
able to suppose that full-form materializations might be ob- 
tained in a large number of sittings, under better and more 
favorable conditions than prevailed at ours. It is a question 
of degree, not of kind, be it observed ; and inasmuch as we 
were definitely convinced that materialized hands did mani- 
fest, I can see no rational ground for skepticism. 

Mrs. Sidgwick tells us that, at Cambridge, "no dark cur- 
tained recess was especially provided." The importance of 
a cabinet at Eusapia's seances is certainly obvious to all who 
have had sittings with her — at least of late years — and one 
can quite understand that, being deprived of it, Eusapia's 



Eusapia Palladino 253 

mediumship would suffer. We are glad to have Mrs. Sidg- 
wick's formal refutation of the current ideas concerning Eu- 
sapia's unhappiness and loneliness at Cambridge. She was 
submitted to no offensive searching and the investigators evi- 
dently did everything in their power to make her happy and 
contented. But the Cambridge sittings certainly differed 
from ours, and probably from those of other investigators in 
one very important point. Speaking of the Cambridge series, 
Mrs. Sidgwick says: 

"There is, at these sittings, so much moving of the posi- 
tion of the whole circle, including the medium, so much rest- 
lessness altogether, and so much difficulty in ascertaining 
what were the exact relative positions of the phenomena, that 
it is difficult to get clear evidence. . . ." 

Now, in our sittings, Eusapia remained a passive agent 
throughout. Occasionally we changed places, the controller 
on the right taking the place of the controller on the left, and 
vice versa, but Eusapia rarely moved her position, and during 
a large part of every sitting she remained entirely passive, 
moving neither hand nor foot — her whole body, on occasion, 
resting against ours, and being entirely encircled by our arms 
and hands. So far as I am aware, such conditions were not 
permitted at Cambridge, but I think that we are justified in 
saying that our own seances form an efficient reply to this 
objection by Mrs. Sidgwick, and formally and explicitly re- 
fute this criticism — based upon the supposed constant rest- 
lessness of Eusapia. 

I quite agree with Mrs. Sidgwick that numerous suspicious 
instances were noticed at Cambridge {e.g., the incident of 
the handkerchief, p. 520), even before fraudulent substitu- 
tion of hands was actually detected, I also agree that when 



254 Eusapia Palladino 

the hands were held as they were at that period, one might 
have been a good observer and yet tricked into believing that 
he was securely holding one hand, when as a matter of fact 
he was not. Further and finally, I heartily agree with Mrs. 
Sidgwick when she contends that almost the whole force of 
the argument for supernormal phenomena rests upon this 
single fact: whether the hands and feet were adequately 
held at the time. 

But I think there are numerous instances on record which 
indicate clearly that both hands were securely held during 
the production of remarkable phenomena; and, further than 
this, and still more conclusive, is the evidence that they were 
seen resting upon the table, held in the hands of her con- 
trollers. Secondly, there are, as Mrs. Sidgwick herself ad- 
mits, many cases on record which cannot be accounted for, 
even supposing that Eusapia had one, or even both hands 
free — but that in order to produce the manifestations frau- 
dulently, she must have left her place at the table and walked 
about the room! 

Now, in our own series of sittings, phenomena were pro- 
duced on various occasions when we felt absolutely certain 
that both hands were securely held, and this, not only because 
we could feel the whole of her hand, but because both 
hands were distinctly visible to us resting upon the table. 
Thus, at our ninth seance, at 10.44, Mr. Feilding, who was 
sitting at the opposite end of the table from Eusapia — and 
certainly farther away from her than either of her controllers 
— said : "I can see the medium's left hand on B.'s. I can see 
Carrington's hand held out against the curtain. I can see 
her right hand on the table. I can see from where I am a 
strong movement of the small stool; her head is perfectly 
visible to me," 



Eusapia Palladino 255 

Again, at the same seance, at 12.51, I was touched on the 
left side by a hand, while I was holding both the medium's 
hands in mine, and while they were both perfectly visible 
to me. This occurred again a few moments later. It will 
be remembered that Professor Lodge was several times 
touched under precisely similar circumstances during the 
course of the ile Roubaud phenomena. Again, during our 
sixth seance, we were repeatedly touched by a hand through 
a curtain, while I was holding Eusapia's left hand in her lap, 
and while Mr. Baggally was holding her right hand upon 
the table. The hands were separated by more than two feet 
from one another, and no attempt whatever was made to ap- 
proximate or substitute the hands. One hand was perfectly 
visible to us, held in mine. The other hand resting beneath 
the curtain on the table. The touches occurred on my side, 
and, the hand I held being visible throughout, Eusapia must 
have released her right arm in order to produce them. Now, 
many of the touches were far beyond her reach, even had she 
the right hand free, and Mr. Baggally is absolutely certain 
that such was not the case — since he could feel the flesh of 
her hand and repeatedly ascertained that the hand he was 
holding was connected with her body by means of her nor- 
mal arm. 

All the objections Mrs. Sidgwick raises might be met if 
we could suppose that Eusapia materializes for the time be- 
ing a third arm, which produces these phenomena, and which 
recedes into her body at the conclusion of a phenomenon. In- 
credible as such a supposition doubtless is, there is evidence 
tending to show that such is indeed the case. Professor Bot- 
tazzi relates that he, on more than one occasion, saw a hand 
which a moment before he had felt, and found to be "luke- 
warm, nervous and rough" (the exact opposite of Eusapia's 



256 Eusapia Palladino 

hand), "retreat into Mme. Palladino's shoulder, describing 
a curve." At the eighth seance, held in July, 1907, Professor 
Galeotti distinctly saw the doubling of the left arm of the 
medium. He exclaimed: "Look, I see two left arms, identi- 
cal in appearance! One is on the little table, and it is that 
which M. Bottazzi touches, and the other seems to come 
out of her shoulder — to approach her, and touch her, and 
then return and melt into her body again. This is not an 
hallucination. I am awake, I am conscious of two simul- 
taneous visual sensations, which I experienced when Mme. 
Bottazzi says that she has been touched." 

It will be seen, therefore, that, impossible as such an idea 
may seem, there is evidence tending to show that such a phe- 
nomenon may in fact, occur, and if it were once definitely 
proved that such were the case, it would readily explain a 
large portion of the Cambridge experiments in a manner 
quite compatible with her honesty and with the existence of 
her genuine supernormal powers. 

Of course there is the objection that fraud was actually 
detected at Cambridge, and that, in a very large number of 
instances, a suspicious narrowing down of the control of the 
hand to two or three fingers was noticed — generally, though 
not invariably, followed by an instantaneous release of the 
hand altogether from the sitter's control. Such facts would 
certainly seem to indicate the practice of fraud, and the only 
scientific procedure in such cases would be to assume that 
it did indicate fraud — particularly when it was detected in 
active operation at later seances. Yet, in view of our own 
experiences, I feel constrained to doubt the accuracy of the 
deductions. We repeatedly noted that Eusapia worked her 
hands into what might be called a good "substitution position," 
•without her taking any advantage of the fact, and in many 



Eusapia Palladino 257 

instances Eusapia's holding of our hands became quite un- 
satisfactory, and her hands even left ours altogether for the 
fraction of a second, returning to them later — during or im- 
mediately before the production of a phenomena. While we 
always insisted that her hands should be immediately re- 
placed on ours in a satisfactory manner upon these occasions, 
we were, nevertheless, quite certain that no substitution had 
taken place, for the reason that we could distinctly see her 
hand the whole time, and noticed that she did not, in fact, 
produce any fraudulent phenomenon with it — though, had the 
room been dark and had we been compelled to judge from 
the sense of touch alone, unaided by sight, we should cer- 
tainly have come to the conclusion that she frequently ef- 
fected a substitution of hands, and produced the observed 
phenomena. 

In view of these facts, then, I cannot but feel that a large 
proportion of the supposed substitutions of hands at Cam- 
bridge were, in fact, not real substitutions at all, but merely 
instinctive or automatic reflexes on Eusapia's part — synchro- 
nizing with the phenomenon — and that her hand instinctively 
tried to free itself and endeavored to reach the object to be 
removed in a normal manner. It must be remembered that 
Eusapia has frequently stated that, at the moment of the 
production of any phenomenon, she feels a strong desire to 
produce the phenomenon normally, by means of her hands, 
and unless she is prevented from doing so, her hand will 
often shoot out automatically and move the object in a 
natural way. But if she be prevented from doing so, and 
her hands are securely held, this instinctive desire is pre- 
vented from becoming externalized in motor expression and 
the phenomenon is produced at a distance from the medium 
— in spite of the utmost rigor as to the control of her hands. 



258 Eusapia Palladino 

It will be observed that almost the whole of Mrs. Sidg- 
wick's criticism is based upon the supposed substitution of 
hands and feet, and is colored, naturally, by the Cambridge 
exposure. But, as I have before pointed out, many phenome- 
na have been observed in the past, and were observed by us, 
which could not have been accounted for even had Eusapia 
freed one hand, or even both hands. I need not give in- 
stances in this place, since they are numerous, and Mrs. Sidg- 
wick herself admits that such instances exist. But once 
grant the genuine character of at least some of the phe- 
nomena and what rational ground is there for refusing to 
believe that a large proportion of them are also genuine — 
only that the evidence does not prove that fact ? I feel quite 
convinced that at least the majority of the phenomena we 
observed were genuine, and could not possibly have been 
produced by fraud, and I think this is the opinion, also, of 
my colleagues and of the majority of investigators who have 
had a large number of sittings with Eusapia, and who pre- 
vented, instead of allowed, fraud on her part. The existence 
of one single phenomenon having been proved, it opens the 
way for numbers of others, equally well established, and even 
for those far less conclusively proved — since, all a priori ob- 
jection having been removed, it becomes merely a question 
of sufficient evidence. We ourselves ascertained, however, 
how difficult a matter it is to present evidence of the sort 
which would be necessary to convince a skeptic who had not 
been present at the sittings; and, bearing in mind that fact, 
and remembering our own previous attitude toward these 
phenomena, I am prepared to allow the critic much indul- 
gence, and we even have sympathy with those minds who 
cannot as yet accept the phenomena as proved. Personal 
sittings, I feel assured, would finally convince ; and short of 



Eusapia Palladino 259 

these, the utmost I can hope for is that the printed evidence, 
as presented in our own series of sittings, will at least assist 
in removing a large number of doubts and objections that 
have existed in the past, relative to Eusapia's mediumship. 

Of course it is conceivable that Eusapia might have at- 
tached a string or a hair to some of the smaller objects and 
moved them by pulling this with her foot, or some part of 
her body, unnoticed by us ; but I am quite convinced that she 
did not do so, ( I ) because no movement of the sort was dis- 
covered; (2) because there was a clearly lighted space be- 
tween her body and the object; (3) because we were con- 
stantly on the alert for any attempt of the sort on her part, 
and were on the lookout for any movement that could be 
construed as bending down and affixing hairs, threads, etc., 
to objects; (4) because we ascertained on several occasions 
that no such hair, thread, or string was, in fact, pulled 
during the actual production of the phenomenon. I cite one 
case by way of illustration of this : During the ninth seance, 
the small stool which we had placed just outside the cabinet, 
about three feet distant from the medium, came out of its 
own accord and moved up to within a foot of her. Eusapia 
waved one of her hands, still controlled by ours, above the 
stool, and it moved in various directions, corresponding to 
the movements of her hand. She then approached her hand 
to the stool and a complete levitation resulted. One of us 
then passed his hands between the stool and the medium's 
body, and along the carpet, showing that no thread, hair, 
string, or other attachment was possible. We picked up the 
stool and examined it, replacing it on the ground. We did 
not allow Eusapia to touch the stool with hand or foot, after 
it had been placed on the floor, but held her hand in ours 
about three feet above the stool, and held her leg by knee 



260 Eusapia Palladino 

and ankle on the side nearest the stool. There was a brightly 
illuminated patch of carpet of about eighteen inches between 
the small stool and her skirt. In spite of these precautions, 
however, the stool immediately began its movements, and 
rose into the air several times under the hands of one of the 
investigators and without being touched in any way by Eusa- 
pia. We considered that this was a test phenomenon, which 
had been obtained under conditions absolutely precluding 
fraud. 

If, then, fraud is unable to account for many of the phe- 
nomena, it is certainly rational to suppose that the more 
marvelous phenomena, observed from time to time, are also 
due to some supernormal force, and cannot be accounted for 
by any process of trickery or hallucination. It is merely a 
question of degree, not of kind. Once grant the existence 
of the simplest phenomenon, unrecognized by physical science, 
and the way is opened for the admission of the more extraor- 
dinary facts, which, in themselves, would prove everwhelm- 
ingly incredible. 

Before I had had my personal sittings, I had been an ex- 
tremely severe critic of the reports of others — I now think, 
too severe. It is a very different matter — being convinced 
of the phenomena oneself, and convincing others. Never be- 
fore had I realized how impossible, almost, it is to frame a 
report in such a manner that it shows that fraud was ab- 
solutely excluded. To those who have not had much ex- 
perience in these phenomena, it would doubtless appear to 
be extremely simple ; but such is by no means the case. Facts 
which appear to the onlooker obvious are omitted in the 
report, and the result is that, when the report appears in 
print, these defects — as they seem to be to the public — ap- 



Eusapia Palladino 261 

pear to be glaringly conspicuous. Thus, when the hands 
of the medium are both plainly visible, the average investi- 
gator does not think of constantly reiterating the fact that 
the hands are visible and constantly held ; yet if he does not 
say so, critics who do not see the progress of the seance, but 
only the printed reports, will find fault with him for not stat- 
ing just such facts, and will hold that the seances are in- 
conclusive because of the lack of these recorded impressions. 
Only the critic who knows the extreme value of recording 
every movement of the medium, would think of recording, 
every moment, the exact position of her hands and feet; so 
that, when phenomena took place, they were accounted for. 
In our sittings we endeavored to supply this hitherto funda- 
mental defect, and supplied, from moment to moment, exact 
descriptions of the position of each hand and each foot. This 
the reader will see, however, when consulting the detailed 
records. 

In criticising these seances — i.e., the work of other men, 
before obtaining sittings myself — I wrote in part as follows 
■ — and the reader will see that I certainly did not lack in 
skepticism. In reviewing M. Flammarion's book, Myste- 
rious Psychic Forces, I said : 

"Now, in going over the facts that are recorded in this 
book, one finds many loopholes that enable one to think that 
fraud might have been practised on such and such an occa- 
sion. Thus, for instance : the holding of the medium is care- 
fully described, and the amount of light recorded. It is then 
stated that the sitters changed places, and soon after this, 
wonderful phenomena took place. But it will be observed 
that we are not told how the medium was held after the sit- 
ters changed places, and if the amount of light was the same. 
Again, it is quite inconclusive to anyone who knows the pos- 
sibilities of fraud, in such cases, to be told that the 'medium 



262 Eusapia Palladino 

was securely held' while manifestations were in progress. 
What we want to know is how she was held ; and that, not in 
general terms but in the greatest and most exact detail. The 
position of the fingers and the thumb should be indicated, and 
it should be stated what parts of the medium's hand, and how 
much of it, they were holding. Again, at the moment of the 
production of any phenomenon, the control-holders should 
make it a point of never looking at the phenomenon, but of 
examining, minutely, the hands they were controlling, and 
exchange remarks at that instant, as to the amount of control 
sustained, and how satisfactory it was. Further, when any 
object is moved, or any musical instrument played, etc., it is 
very inconclusive to state that it was 'at some distance' 
from the medium. What the critic wants to know is just 
how far away the object was, in feet and inches, and he can 
then estimate for himself the possibility of fraud on the part 
of the medium. In other words, the critic should not be 
called upon to accept the judgment of any of those forming 
the circle for his conclusions. What he wants is the facts, 
and he can form his own opinion from these. These opinions 
may be wrong, but it must be emphasized over and over 
again that the only way in which the scientific man can ever 
be influenced is by patiently recording all the details — they 
cannot be too detailed — and allowing the critic to form his 
opinions of the phenomena from the facts, and not from the 
opinions of the persons witnessing the facts. 

"It should be borne in mind, by those having sittings with 
Eusapia, that much of the trickery practised by professional 
mediums is prepared beforehand, and almost invariably the 
trick is done at some other time than that at which the spec- 
tators suppose it is done. Just as the conjurer counts 'one, 
two, three!' and, while the attention of the spectators is fo- 
cused on the word 'three,' and what is to happen thereat, 
the conjurer has opportunity to perform the trick during the 
'one, two' period, or even before the counting began at all. 
In the Palladino case, this should be borne in mind, and 
a close watch kept upon the movements of Eusapia during the 
intermissions or rests — to see that she does not attach strings 



Eusapia Palladino 263 

to the furniture, make imprints in the prepared putty, etc. 
At the very time of making the experiments it is quite pos- 
sible that Eusapia would be totally unable to use either of 
her hands or her feet; but we must have equal surety that 
she has not had the opportunity of accomplishing these phe- 
nomena before the intermission of the seance closed. Fre- 
quently we are told that sitters are enabled to rise and walk 
about the room, look behind the cabinet curtains, etc. Does 
this mean that they have broken the circle in order to do this, 
or was there no circle to break? Another word of caution. 
The imprints of hands, faces, etc., in the putty or clay, were 
not, apparently, produced by Eusapia — at least at the time of 
the holding, and during the seance. But is it possible that 
Eusapia had concealed about her person plaster casts of hands 
and faces that she could in some manner impress into the 
clay at some convenient moment ? We are rarely told of the 
searching of the medium ; but that surely should be invariably 
done. If this had been done, it would make these tests far 
more conclusive. 

"I have made these remarks and raised these objections, 
not because of any a priori objection to the possibility of the 
phenomena, but merely to point out and again insist upon the 
fact that only by conducting experiments that are not open 
to just such objections can these men, experimenting with 
Eusapia, hope to convince the skeptical world that here are 
indeed phenomena that are not due to fraud and trickery. 
The best way, it seems to me, would be to have the medium 
securely handcuffed to the sitters on either side of her, and 
the keyholes of the cuffs sealed. If the cuffs were tight, 
this would be a pretty conclusive test. The ankles of the 
medium might be fastened to the legs of the chair in a similar 
manner. After this has been done, and before the lights of 
the seance room are lowered, one of the circle should inspect 
the instruments, plates of clay, etc., and see that they are as 
yer untouched. If the medium would not allow this (and 
why should she not?), then let the sitter on each side of her 
pull the arm straight, and hold the medium's hand against 
his chest during the manifestations with his own. A separate 



264 Eusapia Palladino 

person should be detailed to guard the feet. A code might 
be arranged between the controls (those holding the hands) 
that a slight and peculiar squeeze of the hand should be made 
ever so often, and if one of the controls felt this squeeze, he 
would be certain that his fellow control had hold of his hand, 
instead of that of the medium — and that she had in some 
manner managed to free hers. This would be a signal for 
closer investigation, and the trick might be discovered. 

"Were I to sum up the results of this book, as they appear 
to me ; were I to try and express the effect upon my mind of 
the facts recorded — endeavoring to keep it as open and im- 
partial as possible — I should say that the actual facts, as they 
took place, in reality, were doubtless in many instances super- 
normal, and were the results of some unknown force or 
forces ; but I must also insist that in very rare instances does 
the evidence presented in the book prove this. I feel that, had 
I been there in person, I, too, should have been convinced; 
but the printed evidence is far from satisfactory and conclu- 
sive, and it is that which the critic will see and only that will 
he weigh. The conditions of the seance are very rarely such 
as to force recognition and acceptance of the facts; but, 
partly because some of the phenomena appear to be indubi- 
table, it would be rash and dogmatic to contend, a priori, for 
the 'impossibility' of the others. M. Flammarion has done 
his best to furnish all particulars of his seances, and he is to 
be complimented on his painstaking and worthy effort. But 
other reports are far from being sufficiently detailed. When 
will the investigators of Eusapia learn that no detail can be 
too trivial and insignificant; that in these very details con- 
sists, frequently, the clew to the mystery, and that no report 
will ever be regarded as final and conclusive without them? 
The most minute detail should be given as to the relative po- 
sition of the fingers, when holding the hands ; when the con- 
trol was changed ; how the new control was effected ; whether 
the change of control was effected in the light or in the dark, 
and a thousand other details that cannot be enumerated here. 
It must always be borne in mind that the subjective impres- 
sion of the sitters is of no value, relatively, to one who has 



Eusapia Palladino 265 

not had sittings with the medium ; and, to one who knows 
the possibilities of fraud, there is always a grave doubt in the 
mind as to sureness of conditions, sufficiency of control, etc. 
— especially in a case like Eusapia's — where fraud has been 
proved to exist over and over again. Accounts of some of 
the later seances — those narrated in the Annals of Psychical 
Science j e.g. — appear to render fraud quite impossible, but 
these cannot be considered here, since they are not included 
in M. Flammarion's book. It is at any rate a comfort to 
know that a series of experiments is being conducted by 
scientific men, and that Eusapia is not to pass from us as D. 
D. Home did, with virtually no indorsements, save that of Sir 
William Crookes. If experiments upon the present lines can 
be carried on for a number of years, with constantly improving 
conditions, we may be assured that conviction will ultimately 
be borne in upon the scientific world; and then what a re- 
casting of old prejudices and conceptions there will be! It 
may be said that M. Flammarion, in the excellent and in- 
tensely interesting book under review, will doubtless have 
helped greatly to bring this result to pass; to have demon- 
strated that the present scheme of science is not a 'closed 
circle' but that, behind and beyond this world of matter and 
effects there is a world of forces and causes the width and 
depth and extent of which we are only just beginning to 
fathom and realize." 

I further proposed that luminous paint might be applied 
to the hands, so that they might be seen the more easily in 
the dark — not knowing that her hands are usually more or 
less visible throughout the sittings. I also found fault with 
the photographs that had been published, saying: "I do not 
for a moment question the interest and value of these photo- 
graphs, I only say that they appear to me to be inconclusive. 
And all photographs are open to this fundamental objection. 
They give us a picture, merely, of what is actually happen- 
ing at any one time, without telling us the preceding actions 
of the medium and others present, leading up to that event. 



266 Eusapia Palladino 

What we should have, in order to be conclusive, is a series 
of photographs, and preferably a cinematographic record of 
the seance. In that manner we should be enabled to follow 
every movement of the medium throughout. Might not such 
an apparatus be devised? We should not, in that case, have 
to depend on the unaided powers of observation of the sitters, 
but would have demonstrable proof that the phenomena 
were objective realities." It will be seen from my own pre- 
vious attitude in the matter that I could not be accused of 
credulity, whatever else might be laid to my door. And I 
think the fact that I was completely convinced of the 
reality of the phenomena, in spite of my previous skepticism, 
should at least have some weight. Fraud, I am quite 
convinced, cannot explain the facts observed in Eusapia's 
presence. 

Having thus exhausted all normal explanations of these 
phenomena, let us now turn to their possible explanation by 
other theories. Before doing so, however, I wish to insist 
upon one point, which is of great importance. It is this: 
That, having once given up the theory of fraud as inadequate 
to account for the facts, it is useless to keep reverting to it, 
and keeping it in the back of the mind as a "possible" ex- 
planation. I trust that I have shown that fraud is unable 
to explain all the phenomena witnessed at Eusapia's seances, 
and that being the case, let us seek in other directions, and 
glance at the various theories that have been advanced from 
time to time in the past, by way of explaining these phe- 
nomena. Having once eliminated what might be called the 
"natural" or "normal" explanations, let us turn to a con- 
sideration of those theories that attempt to explain the facts 
upon other lines — those theories that admit their reality, 
while attempting to account for the facts as best they can. 



Eusapia Palladino 267 

Several writers agree more or less in their interpretation 
of the phenomena, though differing in the detail of their 
theory. Thus, several writers have advanced the idea first 
proposed by Gasparin — that some fluid emanates from the 
body of the medium and produces the effects seen. Thury 
took a very similar view, calling this hypothetical fluid 
psychode. Sir William Crookes, many years ago, advanced 
his theory of "psychic force," which is closely akin to the 
above theories. This force it is which produces the phe- 
nomena. It will be seen that there is a very close approxi- 
mation of theories, but none of them can be said to explain 
all the facts, inasmuch as this fluid has never been discovered ; 
and because, while it would explain all the lesser phenomena 
— movements of objects, etc. — it would not explain the cases 
of materializations, etc., that have taken place from time 
to time, and which still need explanation. The intelligence 
connected with the phenomena would still have to be ac- 
counted for. 

Professor Lombroso was at first inclined to believe that 
in these phenomena are to be found instances of "trans- 
formation of forces" — a theory which he abandoned later, and 
has practically adopted the spiritistic hypothesis — a position 
already taken by Alfred Russel Wallace, and numerous other 
scientists. Certainly his earlier theory would not account for 
the facts — and the spiritistic hypothesis as generally held, 
cannot be said to do so either. And for the following rea- 
sons. 

Even if the existence of spirits were granted, we should 
still have great difficulty in accounting for many of the facts 
in detail, and the theory seems to be in direct opposition to 
other phenomena. Thus, when Eusapia says, "I am going 
to fetch something out of the cabinet with my foot" — and 



268 Eusapia Palladino 

then proceeds to kick about under the table and the instru- 
ment in the cabinet comes out with a rush — this is certainly 
in consequence of a force controlled by herself — which force 
appears to be under the direction of her own conscious mind. 
No external agent is involved in the production of such a 
phenomenon, therefore — which appears to be the result of 
a voluntarily controlled force, issuing from the medium's 
body. When the medium wills the production of a phe- 
nomenon, and the thing immediately occurs, it is absurd 
to contend that "spirits" are involved in its production. That 
would be clearly reverting to "animism" in its most primi- 
tive form; and we should have to abandon all our ideas of 
scientific causation. No; while such a theory may be said 
to explain a large number of the facts, and even explain them 
in a satisfactory manner, it cannot be said to explain them 
all, and any theory which cannot do that cannot be said to 
be final and conclusive. 

Colonel Albert de Rochas believes that these phenomena 
are due to an "exteriorization (or externalization) of mo- 
tivity." An astral body of the medium, composed of some 
sort of nerve fluid, is supposed to exist, and this duplicate 
body is enabled to perceive and act at a distance from the 
medium's physical body. It is a sort of projection beyond 
the periphery of the nervous force of the medium (as in the 
first theories), only in this case this force is more than a 
mere blind, liberated energy — it might be considered as being 
the astral double or replica of the medium's body. This is 
the view which the astronomer Porro is inclined to take, as 
well as other noted scientists. Professor Ochorowicz also be- 
lieves in a "fluidic double," which produces these phenomena. 

There are many facts which seem to prove conclusively 
that some such vital emanation does proceed from the me- 



Eusapia Palladino 269 

dium, and that ft can condense and produce plastic effects in 
space outside the body of the medium. Dr. Fere observed 
luminous radiations proceeding from the body of several of 
his patients in broad daylight. Reichenbach's experiments 
have never been satisfactorily explained. An emanation of 
the kind is seen to be issuing from the medium's body in 
several photographs that have been taken at various times — 
photographs which were intended to prove other things en- 
tirely. Colonel de Rochas' experiments are, some of them, 
very striking. 

In discussing these phenomena this authority says: 

"With certain persons, who are known as psychics, the 
adhesiveness of the nervous fluid to the carnal organism is 
feeble, so that they may even, under various influences, pro- 
ject this nervous fluid outside their bodies. . . . Experiment 
has also shown that this fluidic body is able to model itself 
under the influence of the will, like clay under a sculptor's 
hand, and thus to present the form of this or that personage 
called up by the thought of the medium or that of the 
magnetizer. . . . The frequent formation of hands above 
Eusapia's head, exactly on the spot where she has a hypno- 
genic opening, would be the result of an almost abnormal 
withdrawal of a large quantity of fluid at this point. . . ." 

Is any proof offered for this theory? Colonel de Rochas 
does offer one case, which, he asserts, goes to prove his con- 
tention, and which is certainly very striking. It is the fol- 
lowing strange incident: 

"One day M. de Watteville desired, in my presence, to 
photograph Eusapia between Count de Grammont and Dr. 
Dariex. The photograph having been taken, I chaffed Dr. 
Dariex, who is small of stature and who was standing with 
his hand in his waistcoat, saying to him: 'Doctor, you re- 
semble Napoleon.' The plate, however, was preserved, but 



270 Eusapia Palladino 

a thing which no one could foresee is that the profile of Napo- 
leon stands out very clearly on the background by the side 
of the water post which seems to serve as a pedestal for it, 
but there was nothing to explain this appearance, notwith- 
standing other attempts afterwards made in the same place." 1 

Now it would seem to me that this case fails to prove its 
point, first, for the reason that (as stated in the text) the 
exposure had been made before the remark was passed about 
Napoleon, and hence we cannot assume that the contents 
of the medium's mind could have affected the results in any 
manner — even if his theory were true. In the next place, this 
is but one case against all past experience. In the third place, 
the resemblance to Napoleon may have been more fancied 
than real. And in the fourth place, the hypothesis does not 
cover those cases in which knowledge is exhibited by the 
phantom which the medium did not know at the time and 
never had known. An example of this will be given on p. 
284. 

While there is much to be said in favor of such a theory, 
therefore, there is also much to be said against it. How can 
this etheric double be possessed of a will and intelligence of 
its own — as the phenomena frequently show must be the 
case? How can an "etheric double" or anything correspond- 
ing to it produce impressions of altogether different faces and 
hands in wet clay, as is so often done? If these impressions 
were those of the medium, we could understand it ; but when 
they are those of persons entirely dissimilar to Eusapia, how 
can we conceive that this body could produce such impres- 
sions? It would seem impossible for it to do so; and we 
must, accordingly, reject this hypothesis, as we have rejected 
all those in the past, as inadequate to account for the facts. 

1 Annals of Psychical Science, April- June, 1909, pp. 227-8, 



Eusapia Palladino 271 

Dr. Grasset, a celebrated physician, thinks that the expla- 
nation is to be found in the "psychopathology of the nervous 
centers." When it has been shown just how the nervous 
centers produce these phenomena, I think we may seriously 
consider this hypothesis, and not before! Dr. J. Maxwell 
believes that most of the phenomena are to be explained by 
the operation of a force within us; and that the intelligence 
operative in their production is some kind of a "composite 
consciousness" — composed of the minds of the circle of ex- 
perimenters. It is, in fact, a sort of "collective conscious- 
ness." M. Marcel Mangin is also disposed to adopt this 
idea. I think there is not one particle of evidence that 
can be urged in favor of such a theory — but that, on the con- 
trary, nearly all the facts are opposed to it. 

Other investigators speak of "ectenic force," "psycho- 
dynamism," and other hypothetical forces, more or less in- 
telligent, which are supposed to issue from the body of the 
medium. The objections that have been urged above apply 
to all these theories: viz., we have not the least evidence, 
outside of these phenomena, of the existence of such a force ; 
and it is contrary to scientific method to explain unknown 
facts in terms of the unknown. We can only "explain" phe- 
nomena by bringing them into the realm of the known, and 
showing their connection with the known. And until evi- 
dence of the existence of these "forces" is obtained, it is use- 
less to explain remarkable phenomena by means of them. 

Yet other observers have come to the conclusion that a third 
arm is materialized during the seances, and that this arm 
is that which produces the phenomena! So positive of the 
fact were these investigators, indeed, that they insisted on 
stripping and searching Eusapia, to see whether or not such 
an appendage might not be there. None such was found! 



272 Eusapia Palladmo 

Those experimenters who defended this theory did so on the 
ground that real hands appeared, and produced phenomena, 
when both hands of the medium were clearly held. As this 
third hand seemed to be under the dominating influence of 
Eusapia, they concluded that some artificial prolongation had 
actually taken place. They were forced to conclude that 
some prolongation, usually invisible, and impalpable, became 
visible and palpable, and took the form of an artificial hand, 
having flesh and muscles. 

The a priori objections to this hypothesis need hardly be 
pointed out; but I shall not consider these. Within itself, 
the hypothesis is unable to explain all the facts. It might 
explain touches and movements of objects in the immediate 
vicinity of the medium, but the more distant phenomena — 
the appearance of heads and faces, the appearance of lights, 
the impressions, in clay, of faces, differing from that of the 
medium — it explains none of these things, nor does any simi- 
lar theory, advanced to date. 

Sir Oliver Lodge, in his original Report upon Eusapia, 
advanced a tentative theory, based on the sympathetic move- 
ments observed whenever objects at a distance were moved, 
or other similar phenomena occurred. He says in part : 

"When the accordion is being played, the fingers of the 
medium are moving in a thoroughly appropriate manner, 
and the process reminds one of the twitching of a dog's legs 
when he is supposed to be dreaming that he is chasing a 
hare. It is as if Eusapia were dreaming that she was finger- 
ing an instrument, and dreaming it so vividly that the in- 
strument was actually played. It is as if a dog dreamed of 
the chase with such energy that a distant hare was really cap- 
tured and killed, as if by a phantom dog; and, fanciful as 
for the moment it may seem, and valueless as I must suppose 
such speculations are, I am, I confess, at present more than 



Eusapia Palladino 273 

half disposed to look in some such direction for a clew to 
these effects. In an idealistic interpretation of nature, it has 
by many philosophers been considered that thought is the 
reality, and that material substratum is but a consequence of 
thought. So, in a minor degree, it appears here: it is as if, 
let us say, the dream of the entranced person were vivid 
enough to physically affect surrounding objects and actually 
to produce objective results — to cause not only real and per- 
manent movements of ordinary objects, but also temporary 
fresh aggregations of material particles into extraordinary 
objects; these aggregations being objective enough to be felt, 
heard, seen, and probably even photographed, while they 
last." 



There is at least one class of phenomena, however, which 
cannot be explained upon this theory — namely, those in 
which an independent intelligence is displayed, other than 
that of the medium — since we should have to assume, on the 
above theory, that only Eusapia's will was responsible for 
the facts. Yet there are many phenomena which do not 
seem to be controlled by her will, but on the contrary occur 
in direct opposition to it. An instance of this occurred in our 
own sittings, when Eusapia said she was tired, and asked 
John if the seance might end. John replied by rapping twice 
for "No," and the seance was resumed. Soon after we ob- 
tained four complete levitations of the table, in rapid suc- 
cession, and under excellent test conditions, and John then per- 
mitted the seance to terminate. Here, then, we have evidence 
of an external intelligence, differing from that of Eusapia, 
and expressing wishes in direct opposition to her own. Can 
we assume that any such theory as the above would explain 
these facts? 

The theory has been advanced that, while the conscious 
mind of the medium is not involved in the production of the 



274 Eusapia Palladino 

phenomena, the subconscious mind is active, and in fact it is 
that which is operative and which produces these phenomena. 
Myers first proposed this theory, and has elaborated it in 
great detail in his Human Personality. This subconscious 
mental life supposedly possesses thoughts, desires, and voli- 
tions of its own ; and possesses also, according to the hypothe- 
sis, various faculties and powers, which normally remain latent 
in this life, but which may be called into activity at certain 
times, under certain exceptional conditions. This subcon- 
sciousness is supposed, by some, to be endowed with the facul- 
ties, not only of telepathy and clairvoyance, but with the 
capacity for moving physical objects at a distance from the 
body of the medium! As Dr. Geley expressed it: "A certain 
amount of force, intelligence, and matter of the body may 
perform work outside of the organism — act, perceive, or- 
ganize, and think, without the collaboration of muscles, or- 
gans, senses, and brain. It is nothing less than the uplifted 
subconscious portion of our being; it constitutes, in truth, 
an externalizable subconscious nature, existing in the Me 
with the normal conscious nature." ( The Subconscious Na- 
ture, p. 82.) 

Hartmann, as we know, attempted to explain all phenom- 
ena on his theory of "The Unconscious." The theory was 
(1) that a nervous force can produce, outside the limits of 
the human body, mechanical and plastic effects; (2) that 
duplicate hallucinations of this same nervous force exist, pro- 
ducing also physical and plastic effects; (3) that a latent, 
somnambulistic consciousness (the subject being in the nor- 
mal state) capable of reading in the intellectual background 
of another man his present and his past, and being able to 
divine the future, is operative. 

Aksakof, in his Animism and Spiritism, replied at great 



Eusapia Palladino 275 

length to this theory, and showed that it was unable to ex- 
plain all the phenomena that had been observed by various 
investigators. I do not think that many readers will hesi- 
tate to accept his conclusions also. As a matter of fact, there 
is hardly any evidence whatever that the "subconscious mind" 
can do any of these things, and the theory seems to me to 
be one deliberately invented in order to neutralize the simpler 
theory of spiritism, which, in scientific minds, did not appear 
to be acceptable. Whether spiritism be true or not, however, 
it may be said that the scientific world has not taken kindly 
to Hartmann's theory, and that it is accepted by no one. 

M. Guillaume De Fontenay, in his work, A propos d J Eusa- 
pia Palladino, ingeniously tried to explain the phenomena by 
a dynamic theory of matter. According to this theory, the 
solidity and stability of matter can no more be said to be 
real than the light that strikes our eyes, or the sound our 
ears. What corresponds to solidity and stability in matter 
would, in reality, consist of disturbances or vortices in the 
ether. Life itself would be a special kind of movement — 
this movement being determined and organized by a direct- 
ing force. Applying this theory to the facts before us, we 
might be enabled to account, in some degree, for the phe- 
nomena observed. For, in this case, the vital force of the 
medium would externalize itself, and produce in a point of 
space a vibratory system, which would be the counterpart of 
itself, in a more or less advanced degree of visibility and 
solidity. So far as duplicate apparitions of the medium are 
concerned, therefore, we might conceive that this hypothesis 
goes a long way toward explaining the facts ; but it would fail 
to explain the foreign intelligences manifested during a 
seance, or the materializations of heads, hands, and even com- 
plete forms, differing from those of Eusapia. 



276 Eusapia Palladino 

Other investigators have come to the conclusion that in- 
dependent intelligences are manifested during a seance, but 
that these intelligences are not those of human beings. That 
is, spirits are present, but not necessarily the souls of the dead. 
All kinds of spiritual beings might exist, and fill the space 
all about us, without our ever knowing anything of them 
except under unusual circumstances. In fact, we find in the 
literatures of all nations references to demons, angels, gnomes, 
goblins, spirits, specters, elementals, etc. It might be that 
these legends have some foundation in fact! Some psychic 
researchers of the present day are, in fact, inclined to defend 
this hypothesis in certain instances — there being much evi- 
dence tending to show that "evil 1 spirits" are operative in the 
production of phenomena — phenomena indicating external, in- 
dependent intelligence. Nevertheless, no scientific man could 
accept this theory unless some definite evidence were ad- 
vanced in its support. We are not entitled to assume that 
even human consciousness exists apart from bodily structure, 
until it has been proved ; and if that is the case with human 
consciousness, which we know exists in this life, we should 
require a great deal more evidence to prove that independent 
intelligences of other t5^pes existed — since we have no scien- 
tific evidence at all that they exist or have ever existed in 
connection with bodily frames! Though one could not say 
''impossible" to such a theory, therefore, definite evidence 
would have to be advanced that such intelligences exist quite 
apart from these phenomena; and until such evidence is pro- 
duced, I feel that it is useless to discuss this hypothesis 
further. 

Some authorities have advanced the theory that a sort of 
reflection, or reflex action, is sufficient to explain the phe- 
nomena. Says M. Flammarion: 



Eusapia Palladino 277 

"Everyone has seen his image reflected in a mirror, and 
nobody is astonished by it. However, analyze the thing. 
The more you look at this optical being moving there behind 
the mirror, the more remarkable the thing appears to you. 
Now, suppose looking-glasses had not been invented. If 
we had not knowledge of those immense mirrors which re- 
flect whole apartments and visitors in them, if we had never 
seen anything of the kind, and if some one should tell us that 
images and reflections of living persons could thus manifest 
themselves, and thus move, we should not comprehend and 
should not believe it. 

"Yes, the ephemeral personification, created in spiritual- 
istic seances, sometimes recalls the image that we see in a 
mirror, which has nothing real in itself, but which yet exists 
and reproduces the original. The image fixed by the photo- 
graph is of the same kind, only durable. The potential image 
formed at the focus of the mirror of a telescope, invisible in 
itself, but which we can receive on a level mirror and study, 
at the same time enlarging it by the microscope of the eye- 
piece, perhaps approaches nearer to that which seems to be 
produced by the concentration of the psychical energy of a 
group of persons. We create an imaginary being; we speak 
to it, and in its replies it almost always reflects the mentality 
of the experimenters. And, just as with the aid of mirrors, 
we can concentrate light, heat, ether waves, electric waves, 
in a focus — so, in the same way, it seems sometimes as if 
the sitters added their psychic forces to those of the medium 
— condensing the waves, and helping to produce a sort of 
fugitive being, more or less material. The subconscious na- 
ture, the brain, of the medium, or its astral body, the fluidic 
mind, the unknown powers latent in sensitive organisms — 
might we not consider these as the mirror which we have 
just imagined, and might not this mirror also perceive and 
reproduce impressions, or influences from a soul at a dis- 
tance?" 

Professor Morselli, though firmly believing in the facts, 
ridicules the spiritistic interpretation of them and clings to 



278 Eusapia Palladino 

the idea that these "teleplastic phantoms," seen at Eusapia's 
seances, are the creations of her subconscious mind, and are 
merely mental reflexes of her subliminal activity. When 
facts are told by the phantoms, unknown to the medium, 
these are supposed to be obtained, telepathically, from the 
minds of the sitters. Nevertheless, I am convinced that the 
majority of students of these phenomena would consider this 
by far the more improbable hypothesis of the two; and that 
it has not any real evidence in its support whatever. Pro- 
fessor Lombroso, in criticising Morselli's book, justly says: 

"When, therefore, Morselli attempts to explain the dis- 
agreement of John with his medium, when he went so far 
as to cuff her because she refused to hold a seance on the fol- 
lowing day, by saying that the medium tried to be 'more 
medium than the medium/ in order to convince the sitters of 
her sincerity, he juggles with subtleties which, through being 
too subtle, break down under the evidence ; and, in fact, when 
Eusapia refused, since she was too tired, to work on the next 
day, it was for a very good reason, because the seance in such 
a case would not have been successful. 

"Another explanation which errs through excess of subtlety 
is that of the levitation of Eusapia, which took place slowly, 
without shocks, like a person who dreams that he is flying; 
and he adds, mistakenly: 'not, however, as though the me- 
dium was carried upward by a force acting on her from 
without.' But when one dreams of flying, one has the illu- 
sion of moving suddenly and rapidly, and not seated on one's 
chair, but rising upward, and that not slowly. Besides, what 
relation is there between an illusion, a mere dream, and a 
real fact that is tangible to other persons? 

"It is notable also that when he finds himself confronted 
with new and important facts, he tries to throw doubt on 
them through excess of impartiality. Thus, having weighed 
Eusapia before and after the seance, he finds that at the end 
of the sitting her weight had diminished by 2.2 kilogrammes, 



Eusapia Palladino 279 

or nearly 5 lbs. (Vol. II, p. 293), but he remarks that this 
diminution in weight arose from her moving about while 
she was on the scale, and thus throwing the balance out of 
equilibrium. Now, his criticism might have been just if 
Eusapia had moved ; but it is not so at another time when he 
admits that she did not move, but remained rigid on the scale ; 
here it is evident that if the results in both cases are to be 
taken as negative, the conditions ought to have been the same, 
and not different ; all the more so as this alteration in weight 
coincides with what was observed on other occasions by Gyel 
and Aksakoff, and indirectly by Visani Scozzi when he saw 
her lose her lower limbs during a levitation. 

"Yet he attaches some importance (Vol. I, p. 351) to the 
loss in dynamometric force by five of the sitters, amounting 
to 6 kilos on the right side and 14 on the left; while the 
fact might be explained otherwise than by the left-handedness 
of the medium, as being due to the weariness produced by 
a long sitting and great nervous strain. 

"More importance, on the other hand, should have been 
given to the fact that the medium, usually left-handed, be- 
came right-handed at one sitting, and Morselli himself be- 
came left-handed. This confirms Dr. Audenino's hypothesis 
of transitory left-handedness in the abnormal state, and the 
transference to the sitters of the anomalies of the medium; 
and the left-handedness of Eusapia, like that of Mme. 
d'Esperance and of Miss Smith, and the reversed writing 
of mediums, seem to indicate the increased participation of 
the right lobe of the brain in mediumistic states, as occurs 
with hypnotized persons, and would explain the concomitant 
unconsciousness. 

"As to the feeling of intense repugnance at seeing his 
mother recalled, and against his will, by Eusapia, I confess 
that I not only do not share it, but, on the contrary, when 
I saw my mother again, I felt one of the most pleasing in- 
ward excitements of my life, a pleasure that was almost a 
spasm, which aroused a sense, not of resentment, but of grati- 
tude to the medium who threw my mother again into my 
arms after so many years, and this great event caused me to 



280 Eusapia Palladino 

forget, not once but many times, the humble position of 
Eusapia, who had done for me, even were it purely automat- 
ically, that which no giant in power and thought could ever 
have done. 

"I respect Morselli's feelings, however, because feelings 
are individual ; yet I ask him if it has ever happened to him, 
as to me, to have to sit alongside of persons who, if not by 
birth, at least by conduct, are much more unworthy than 
Eusapia — and not as an involuntary spectator, but as a col- 
laborator ? 

" Where Morselli excels, and his book has great merit, is 
in the clinical study of Eusapia, made at two or three dif- 
ferent periods, but complete. He has observed, for in- 
stance, that during trance Eusapia's secretions augment, 
that the reflexes on both sides are abolished, that several 
nerves are painful on pressure, etc. ; left-handedness, hyper- 
esthesia of the whole left side of the body; that she is 
more easily magnetized than hypnotized, so that by me- 
thodical stroking of her head with trie hand one can remove 
headaches and calm her mind, and by magnetic passes 
from below upward can cause a semicatalepsy, while by 
reverse passes one can relieve muscular contractions and 
paresis. 

" 'Like the fakirs,' he writes, 'when they wish to enter 
into trance, Eusapia begins to slacken her rate of breathing, 
passing from 28 inspirations to 15 or 12 to the minute, while 
her heart beats from 99 to 120; then her hands are seized 
with little starts and tremors, the joints of the feet and hands 
are bent and straightened, and every now and then become 
rigid. The passage through this state of active somnam- 
bulism is marked by yawns, sighs, sweat on the brow, per- 
spiration of the hands, strange expressions of countenance — 
now seized by a kind of anger marked by imperious com- 
mands, and sarcastic phrases addressed to the critics — and 
now by a voluptuous erotic ecstasy, succeeded by intense 
thirst/ 

"All this is connected with hysteria, just as many of those 
afflicted with gravel and asthma have similar symptoms to 



Eusapia Palladino 281 

the gouty and rheumatic, even though they may not have pain 
in their joints. 

"Very true also are his observations that Eusapia predicts 
what will happen at the seances, and, therefore, has a certain 
consciousness of the phenomena before they occur; and that 
almost all her trance phenomena are stereotyped and auto- 
matic, like some of the peculiar motions of epileptics, which 
may or may not be associated with absolute loss of conscious- 
ness, but always with an impotence of the will to restrain 
the actions. Equally automatic are the movements of the divin- 
ing-rod, spirit writing, musical and dramatic performances 
in a state of trance, in which there is a disintegration of the 
personality, while certain brain centers are still able to. act ; 
and so, too, according to Myers, are hallucinations with the 
crystal ; and why should we not add, as he says, the speaking 
in foreign tongues, and impersonations? It is true that we 
do not understand what is the internal stimulus from which 
these latter result, if we do not wish to admit the action of 
spirits, but sometimes they arise from forgotten impressions 
of childhood." 



This completes our resume of the theories that have been 
advanced, to date, to explain the remarkable phenomena oc- 
curring in Eusapia's presence. Other theories will doubtless 
be proposed in the future, and perhaps others have been ad- 
vanced in the past of which I am ignorant. But the above 
summary will at least give the reader an idea of the hypoth- 
eses that have become necessary, in order to explain these 
facts — once they are admitted into positive science. The 
same objection may be applied to each and every one in turn. 
They explain some of the facts, but by no means all of them, 
and any theory which does not explain them all cannot be 
said to be truly explanatory. I shall again refer to this in 
the next chapter, in which I shall advance a theory of my 
own. 



282 Eusapia Palladino 

Certain it is that the facts occur; and that having once 
been granted, it becomes necessary to explain them, or to at- 
tempt to explain them, by some means or other, and with the 
least strain upon our credulity. Any theory which serves to 
explain the facts in the most satisfactory manner must depart 
least from scientific standards, as held to-day. That is, in 
order really to explain a phenomenon, we must show its rela- 
tion to the known, and attempt to connect it in some way 
with the established facts — with physical, physiological, or 
mental science. It is useless to speculate at random con- 
cerning these phenomena — though speculations of this char- 
acter are, perhaps, seldom wasted. Still, the most scien- 
tific hypothesis is probably that which departs least from 
what is known of the physical and mental world. I shall 
endeavor in the next chapter to formulate a theory which 
fulfills these requirements — inasmuch as I shall attempt to 
bring these phenomena within the pale of science by showing 
their connection with what we know of physics, physiology, 
and psychology. 



CHAPTER VI 

MY OWN HYPOTHESIS TO ACCOUNT FOR THE FACTS 

The theory that is now presented is based upon the as- 
sumption that the phenomena are genuine, and are the result 
neither of fraud nor of hallucination. Of course, personal 
experiments finally settled this, but the incident which origi- 
nally forced me into an attitude of belief was the following, 
which appeared in the Annals of Psychical Science for Sep- 
tember, 1907, under the signature of Dr. Joseph Venzano, 
who relates the incident at first hand soon after it occurred. 
"The room," we read, "was arranged as usual and lighted 
when the phenomenon occurred by the candle in the ante- 
room. . . . The control of Mme. Palladino was confined to 
me, on the right, and to Mme. Ramorino, seated on the left. 
♦ . . The narrative of this incident is taken from the special 
note which I made myself on the same evening after the 
seance." 

It would appear, therefore, that very little is to be desired 
in the way of testimony, and the light was fairly good — 
certainly enough to see the outlines of the medium's figure, 
as we shall presently see. Yet, under these conditions, the 
following remarkable incident took place (p. 164) : 

"In spite of the dimness of the light I could distinctly see 
Mme. Palladino and my fellow-sitters. Suddenly I perceived 
that behind me was a form, fairly tall, which was leaning 
its head on my left shoulder and sobbing violently, so that 
those present could hear the sobs; it kissed me repeatedly. 

283 



284 Eusapia Palladino 

I clearly perceived the outlines of this face, which touched 
my own, and I felt the very fine and abundant hair in 
contact with my left cheek, so that I could be quite sure 
that it was a woman. The table then began to move, and 
by typtology gave the name of a close family connection who 
was known to no one present except myself. She h::d died 
sometime before, and on account of incompatibility of 
temperament there had been serious disagreements with her. 
I was so far from expecting this typtological response that 
I at first thought this was a case of coincidence of 
name; but while I was mentally forming this reflection I 
felt a mouth, with warm breath, touch my left ear and 
whisper, in a low voice in Genoese dialect, a succession of 
sentences, the murmur of which was audible to the sitters. 
These sentences were broken by bursts of weeping, and their 
gist was to repeatedly implore pardon for injuries done to 
me with a fullness of detail connected with family affairs 
which could only be known to the person in question. The 
phenomenon seemed so real that I felt compelled to reply 
to the excuses offered me with expressions of affection, and 
to ask pardon in my turn if any resentment of the wrongs 
referred to had been excessive. But I had scarcely uttered 
the first syllables when two hands, with exquisite delicacy, 
applied themselves to my lips and prevented my continuing. 
The form then said to me, 'Thank you,' embraced me, 
kissed me, and disappeared." 

These facts were corroborated by the others present at 
the seance. Hallucination, therefore, could not explain the 
facts. M. Venzano distinctly asserts that he was perfectly 
calm throughout the seance, that he did not cease to watch 
the medium carefully, who "was quite awake and visible to 
all," and who also "remained motionless through the whole 
course of the phenomenon." As to the alternatives — fraud 
and hallucination — M. Venzano writes: "The ensemble of 
my perceptions of contact as well as audible ones (the latter 



Eusapia Palladino 285 

shared by my fellow-sitters), the typtological response in 
complete accordance with the perceptions themselves, and the 
fact that, in spite of the very dim light, Mme. Palladino 
was distinctly visible to me as to all those present — as well 
as her complete ignorance of the family details revealed — 
exclude absolutely both these hypotheses" (p. 165). 

In the face of evidence of this kind it would appear to 
me simply absurd to press any theory of fraud. If the 
seance had been held in complete darkness, or if the medium 
had been in a cabinet concealed from all, such a theory 
might be pressed. But in view of the evidence it certainly 
cannot. In such a case as this fraud appears to me to be 
absolutely out of the question, and any attempt to explain 
the facts by that theory would be far more inconceivable 
than an acceptance of the facts. In this case, at any rate, 
fraud is unable to explain the facts observed, and since that 
is the case in this instance, it is most probably inadequate to 
explain many of the other facts likewise — only in these other 
cases the facts, as reported, are not strong enough, evi- 
dentially, to establish that conclusion. There is always a 
vast difference between a truth and establishing a truth. 

Having thus shown that fraud alone is unable to explain 
the facts, we must turn to other explanatory hypotheses. 
Hallucination may appeal to some as a rational explanation 
of at least some of the incidents; but here I would ask my 
reader to bear in mind what I have said before as to the 
necessary inclusiveness of any hypothesis that may be ad- 
vanced. Hallucination certainly cannot account for many 
of the graphic records — it has very rarely been actually 
proved to exist in any case — why, therefore, postulate it as 
a part of any explanatory hypothesis, when we have no evi- 
dence whatever that it is correct or even justifiable ? 



286 Eusapia Palladino 

I should like to say one or two more words here on this 
question of hallucination, as it is one on which other critics 
and myself tend to disagree in our interpretation of the 
phenomena. It is a theory often advanced by students as an 
explanatory hypothesis and finds great favor in certain quar- 
ters. I am well aware of its strong points and the argu- 
ments in its favor, but I am also aware of the facts and 
arguments tending to disprove it. I think it probable that 
illusions very frequently take place at spiritualistic seances. 
One very interesting example of this I mentioned in my 
report on "Lily Dale"; 1 but that is a different thing from 
full-blown hallucination. The former implies that there is 
some background of reality, the outlines and details of which 
are filled in by the mind of the seer; the former supposes 
that there is no such reality of background at all. There 
is a vast difference between these two. I have frequently 
seen the former psychological process at work at fraudulent 
seances ; but I can truthfully say that in the ten years during 
which time I have been a constant attendant at seances (all 
of which time I was on the alert for anything of the kind), 
I have never seen any traces of genuine hallucination in any 
single case. I am disposed to disbelieve in this hypothesis 
most strongly. I have never seen a trace of it at work. 
Where others saw hallucination I saw simply fraud. In 
most cases, what passes for hallucination is nothing more 
than clever trickery — trickery of a kind I have frequently 
been able to detect. I have always been inclined to place 
the physical phenomena either in the realm of fraud or that 
of reality, and I greatly doubt if hallucination plays any 
part in any of these phenomena. In this, however, I am 
in disagreement with other writers. Each one must choose 
proceedings of the American S. P. R., Vol. II, Part I, p. 29. 



Eusapia Palladino 287 

the hypothesis that most appeals to him; I merely give my 
opinion in such a case — stating it for what it is worth. 

The same objections, it seems to me. that have been 
advanced against fraud and hallucination (as explanations) 
may successfully be urged against even- one of the theories 
that has been advanced to date. Fluidic prolongations, 
etheric doubles, unknown neuric forces, etc.. explain many 
of the phenomena, but by no means all of them. What 
is the use of a theory that explains a certain percentage 
of the phenomena, merely, and leaves unexplained a large 
number of facts — and the most interesting facts at that? 
None of these theories would explain the impressions 
obtained on wet clay and putty: oi faces and hands other 
than those of the medium; none of them explain the 
materializations of forms, of heads and faces, entirely dif- 
ferent from those of Eusapia; none of them really explain 
the intelligent force that frequently moves objects, plays 
musical instruments, etc. — which Eusapia could not have 
moved or played. To postulate an "unknown force" leaves 
us where we were in the first place, and explains nothing 
in the second. Can "unknown forces" make impressions of 
hands and faces in putty? Do they possess an intelligence 
equal to or even greater than that of the medium who 
:es them? The mere statement of the theory carries 
with it its own refutation; it is inherently absurd. So far 
as we know anything about ''forces" in this universe, they 
can do none of these things. 

Nor can the theory of an ''astral double of the medium'' 
explain the facts. It might explain some of them, but cer- 
tainly not all. or even the great majority- of them. One can 
conceive that such an entity could make impressions of the 
medium's face in the putty (duplicating hers), but how about 



288 Eusapia Palladino 

impressions of altogether alien and foreign faces? Unless 
we revert to the mediaeval conception of lycanthropy (change 
of form at will) we are unable to explain these facts on 
any such theory. And the same objections may be raised, 
it seems to me, against the theory of "prolongations," and 
all the other theories that have been advanced to explain 
these phenomena. 

It would appear to me that the most satisfactory hypoth- 
esis (and indeed the only one that satisfactorily covers and 
explains all the facts in the case) is the spiritistic. I know 
that there is a universal dislike for this theory; that it is 
a tremendous assumption in the first place ; unable to account 
for many of the facts in the second ; and crude, as generally 
held, in the third; but it is the most logical and consistent 
one, in the long run, I am convinced. I shall endeavor to 
place this hypothesis upon what may be at least a conceivable 
basis, after first answering one or two objections that can be 
raised to it — legitimate objections, such as those I have ad- 
vanced above. I shall pass over that of crudity, as I hope to 
remove it before the argument is finished. 

First, then, as to the "assumption" that is made in formu- 
lating this hypothesis. It may be contended that it is a 
mere begging of the question — thus to defend a theory 
which it is, in a sense, our object to prove! All the data 
of materialism may be urged against this assumption — it 
being contended that "spirits" having been eliminated from 
the universe, they cannot be present tipping Mme. Pal- 
ladino's tables or anyone else's. The hypothesis, it may 
be claimed, evades the issue and reverts at one swoop to 
mediaeval superstition. That would be the position of many 
critics. 

In reply, I would remind the skeptic that we must at all 



Eusapia Palladino 289 

events have some theory to explain the facts. And we must 
have one that explains all the facts. Now, broadly speaking, 
the spiritistic hypothesis does this, and is the only one that 
does. By it we can explain the movements of objects, the 
playing upon musical instruments, the appearance of human 
heads and faces, the materialization of forms, the presence 
of an external intelligence, etc. — all of which facts are most 
difficult and many of them impossible to explain upon any 
other theory. I think it will be granted that, apart from 
the inherent difficulty of accepting this theory (and certain 
minor objections that might be cleared away and removed 
by further experimenting), it most satisfactorily explains all 
the facts in the case and includes them all in one general 
hypothesis. Certainly this is to be desired. And if this be 
granted (as I think it must be), then the only reason for 
rejecting the theory is its "inherent" improbability — the im- 
probability of there being any such thing as "spirit" in the 
universe at all — in short, the general objection founded on 
materialism. I at least can see no valid objection on any 
other ground (apart from the minor difficulties mentioned 
above, which are really difficulties zcithin the problem, not 
objections to it), and I shall accordingly turn to a con- 
sideration of this objection. 

The position of materialism is well known. Matter and 
force occupy all the universe; and besides them there is no 
substantial reality. Consciousness is merely a by-product — 
a result of brain activity, which perishes at the moment of 
death. Vitality is the result of chemical combustion; it is 
all very simple! Such a thing as "spirit" would be quite 
impossible if materialism were true. 

Now, if we were to undertake to dispute this hypothesis, 
we should have to take into account the whole range of 



290 Eusapia PallaHino 

philosophy, metaphysics, and science — -a task certainly be- 
yond my powers. Here it need only be said that this theory 
is being so far undermined by the newer discoveries that it 
is beginning to be given up, even by its former champions 
in orthodox science. Matter and force are no longer found 
to be indestructible; consciousness certainly cannot be 
dovetailed into any materialistic scheme. Many scientific 
writers are now defending the idea that life is something 
quite apart from the matter, which forms its incasement, and 
certain of us contend that vitality is not such a simple thing 
as has been previously believed. However, letting all this 
go for the moment, I am content to let my opponent hold 
whatever views of the universe he pleases; he may be a 
believer in Haeckel's monism if he likes; the only thing I 
demand (and upon that I insist) is that he explains on 
this theory all the facts. If he can do this he can hold 
to his theory; if he cannot, then he must adopt another 
theory or modify his sufficiently to explain and cover the 
facts. That is the ultimate test and the only real one. 
Any theory advanced must explain all the observed phe- 
nomena. 

Now, it is quite certain, it seems to me, that any material- 
istic theory cannot explain many of the facts of psychic re- 
search. Let us omit telepathy as possibly explicable on the 
materialistic scheme. Clairvoyance, premonitions, appari- 
tions of the dead, haunted houses, to say nothing of the case 
of Mrs. Piper — none of these facts are really explicable on 
any materialistic theory. The method in the past, there- 
fore, has been to ignore them. But this cannot be done 
much longer! So much evidence is constantly pouring in — 
evidence so well attested, of such an extraordinary nature — 
that it will not be many years before at least some of these 



Eusapia Palladino 291 

phenomena are accepted by orthodox science. And then 
what will become of materialism? 

Enough has been said, at any rate, to show us that 
materialism no longer has the same firm foothold as it had 
some years ago. Then no one thought of questioning it if 
he wished to be thought "scientific"; now everyone does! 
The Piper case, and others of a similar nature, and the 
whole mass of psychical phenomena, seem to indicate that 
there are, operative in nature, forces and intelligences be- 
yond those known to or recognized by orthodox science. 
And however far we may stretch explanatory hypotheses, 
we are at all events in the realm of the "supernormal," and 
hence beyond materialism. Spiritism is the only rational 
explanation for certain cases, and it synthesizes the whole 
of psychical research in a way that no other hypothesis can. 
Once accepted, it explains all the phenomena in a very 
simple and satisfactory manner. 

When we come to view the facts in the Palladino case, 
then, we find that they form or are divisible into two general 
groups. Broadly, they may be divided as follows: (1) 
Those phenomena in which there is some mechanical move- 
ment, devoid of external intelligence; and (2) those phe- 
nomena in which there is (apparently at least) an external 
intelligence. In the first of these two groups I should place 
movements of objects without contact, levitations, raps not 
showing intelligence, musical sounds ditto, the blowing out 
of the curtains of the cabinet, etc. In the second class I 
should have to place raps and musical sounds showing in- 
telligence, impressions in putty of hands, faces, etc., mate- 
rializations, conversations, intelligent handling of the record- 
ing apparatus, and all kindred phenomena. Now, I must 
insist that, while the theories that have been advanced to 



292 Eusapia Palladino 

date (and which were reviewed in the last chapter) might 
explain the phenomena included in the first of these two 
categories, they certainly cannot explain the second set of 
facts. Intelligence cannot be displayed by a thing that has 
none, and "forces" and even "fluidic elongations" have none! 
We must postulate something at work, therefore, that has 
intelligence, and, since this is not the medium, what can it 
be but some external intelligence — some entity with a mind 
and thoughts of its own? And what can that be but a 
spirit? To me any attempt to evade this main issue is 
merely quibbling. 

Whether we can conceive any such thing as a spirit or 
not is beside the case; the question is, Do the facts prove it? 
To me they certainly do prove it in at least some of the 
cases — an example of which I gave earlier in this discussion. 
Any attempt to explain such a case as that by any theory of 
"forces" or in any other way than to admit the presence of 
the spiritual intelligence who purported to be present is, to 
me, absurd. I should much rather prefer to hold that Dr. 
Venzano falsified the facts, or that the whole seance was 
due to fraud, than advance any theory other than the spirit- 
istic, in a case of this character. Any other theory would 
be a straining at a gnat and swallowing a camel, indeed! 

Having defined my position, then, in broad outline, I 
must now proceed to fill in the details. I shall be told that 
this is no new theory, but that it has always been held by 
a large number of observers and defended by them. Further, 
there are many difficulties within the problem; and again, 
there are numerous facts which seem to indicate that some 
force, under the control of the medium's own brain and 
mind, is in operation and not that of any spirit. (This 
would seem to negate this hypothesis, therefore.) I am 



Eusapia Palladino 293 

aware of all these objections, and shall endeavor to answer 
them as we proceed. 

I must begin by making certain assumptions — assumptions 
which should find no difficulty in being accepted in the main, 
and which at all events cannot be argued here. These are: 
( 1 ) That consciousness persists after the dissolution of the 
organism; (2) that this consciousness maintains its personal 
identity — including, of course, memory; (3) that this con- 
sciousness ("soul") is or inhabits a body of the same shape 
as our physical body — at least at first; (4) that it is con- 
stantly about us — in our surroundings — capable of exercising 
certain functions to us deemed supernormal, such as telep- 
athy, clairvoyance, etc.; (5) that it is normally invisible to us, 
but may become visible under certain conditions, as yet un- 
known, to one or more individuals, and can then more or 
less directly communicate with them; (6) that such an 
intelligence can only act on the material world through 
some intermediary and not directly — either upon a nervous 
mechanism (probably indirectly) or upon inert matter 
(almost certainly indirectly) through some semifluidic in- 
termediary. Only by means of this etheric or vital inter- 
mediary is mind enabled to act upon matter and the material 
world. 

None of this is new — except, perhaps, the last proposition. 
If such a thing as "spirit" exists at all, I think there should 
be but little difficulty in granting the first five of these 
assumptions. The sixth is the one that I now wish to 
elaborate and defend at some length. 

First of all, let us go back to the world-old problem of 
the connection of mind and body. There are certain aspects 
of this question that seem to have been overlooked even by 
those psychologists and philosophers who have written about 



294 Eusapia Palladino 

it at length, and as this question has a more or less direct 
bearing on the problem before us, as we shall presently see, 
it may be well to point these out in this place. 

The ordinary materialistic conception is, of course, the 
"production" theory. Mind is thought to be the direct 
consequence of the brain's functioning, and is the result of 
it. But if this narrow conception be given up, as it now is, 
by a large number of even "orthodox" psychologists, and as 
it certainly must be if even one supernormal fact ever be 
proven, then it becomes necessary to postulate some other 
connection, and both parallelism and interactionism prac- 
tically admit the existence of consciousness apart from brain 
structure. The refusal to consider the matter in this light 
is a mere piece of dogmatism; and anyone has just as good 
a right to affirm that mind does exist apart from brain 
activity as another man has to assert that it does not. The 
skeptic's only ground of vantage is the fact that conscious- 
ness has never been proved to exist, independent of such 
activity, which would seem to indicate, at least upon a super- 
ficial view of the facts, that it was the result of it. But if 
we do have evidence of its independent existence — in such 
phenomena as those of Mrs. Piper, for example — then it is 
at once and forever proved that consciousness does and can 
exist apart from brain structure, and that it merely uses that 
organ or instrument to function through — while here in the 
body. That is, consciousness exists as a separate entity, but 
only becomes manifest and objective to us here in the body 
while utilizing some material brain. On this theory the 
possible separate existence of consciousness is admitted, and 
only the nature of its connection with the organism is the 
mystery. 

Now, if mind exists apart from the brain and merely 



Eusapia Palladino 295 

utilizes it to manifest through, it is acting upon it by a 
species of telekinesis all the time! Every mental state and 
change — accompanied, as it doubtless is, by molecular action, 
chemical changes, etc. — is the result of a telekinetic action! 
There should be no very great difficulty in imagining con- 
sciousness capable of affecting the outside material world, 
therefore. Further, for all we know, the mind may be a 
thousand miles away from the brain it is acting upon and 
merely be in rapport with it by means of some sort of mag- 
netic attraction! If anyone asked me if I believed such a 
theory I should say, "No, I do not"; but at the same time 
there is really nothing against it. Once grant the possible 
existence of consciousness apart from brain activity, and we 
can conceive this quite easily. 

It may be objected to the above that, whereas mind can 
conceivably act on organic matter, and particularly nervous 
tissue, it cannot, so far as we know, act upon the inorganic 
world in a similar manner. That is probably very true; 
there is some sort of vital connection in the one case which 
there is not in the other, and upon that fact hinges the 
ability of the mind to influence organic and not inorganic 
matter. It is more than probable, it seems to me, that there 
exists some sort of etheric medium between mind and even 
organic nervous tissue, upon which the mind must act first 
of all. Thus we should have the chain of connection : mind, 
vital or etheric medium, nervous tissue, muscle, bone. So 
mind acts upon matter, and it will be seen that there is an 
increasing density of structure, and that just in proportion 
to this density is mind incapable of affecting matter directly. 
We must, it seems to me, always postulate some sort of 
etheric medium through which mind acts in order to affect 
and move matter — organic or inorganic. And without this 



296 Eusapia Palladino 

vital intermediary there can be no action and consequently 
no manifestation. 

Now, on the ordinary materialistic view, human vitality is 
conceived to be a mere product of chemical combustion. 
The potential energy of the food we eat is, according to 
modern science, transformed into actual or kinetic energy 
in the body — when food is oxidized within it. In this way 
is the energy of the body maintained, and vitality is thus 
conceived to be one of the forces of nature and transformable 
and transmutable into them. Heat, light, chemical affinity, 
electricity, vitality, etc., are all conceived to be forces on the 
same plane, and all transmutable one into the other. And 
one is no more mysterious than the other — vitality no more 
so than chemical affinity! 

Now, in my book Vitality, Fasting, and Nutrition, I 
argued this point at great length, and brought forward 
many facts and arguments in an attempt to show that vitality 
is not a simple material force like the others — but is some- 
thing distinct, separate, per se — and unlike any other force 
whatever. I cannot repeat in this place any of the arguments 
there brought forward in defense of this view, but shall as- 
sume its correctness for the sake of argument, as it will 
enable us to understand these facts much more fully than will 
any other hypothesis. 1 I shall proceed upon the theory that 
vitality is a living force, non-material, that guides the body 
during its life here on earth. It forms the connecting link 
between mind and matter, and is, quite possibly, the vehicle 

1 Although my theory has been before the world for almost two years, no 
one has come forward to challenge the correctness of it. Almost every 
reviewer, without exception, has stated his disbelief in the theory, but has failed 
to advance a single fact tending to disprove it; no one has undertaken to refute 
it in detail. Both Dr. Rabagliati and myself expected the idea to meet with 
ridicule and rejection, at first, as all new ideas do; but the absence of contrary 
facts is most extraordinary. I shall not do more than refer to it here. 



Eusapia Palladino 297 

of the soul — the etheric double, the astral body of the 
theosophists. 1 

Now, if we grant that this vitality is a separate force, 
capable of controlling the nervous mechanism under certain 
conditions, and acting as an intermediary between it and 
mind, it is evident that this vital force is more detachable 
from the organism — more a thing, an entity — than we have 
been in the habit of supposing. It might be transferable, 
under certain conditions, from one organism to another, 
and this would account for mesmeric phenomena and some 
so-called miraculous cures. This same vitality, again, issuing 
from the scar in the medium's forehead, would account for 
the "cold air" so often felt by experimenters at the Palladino 
seances (p. 205). This postulated vital energy would 
explain a number of other facts, and is probably closely 
allied to Gasparin's "fluid," to Thury's "psychode," and to 
Sir William Crookes' "psychic force." None of the in- 



x In the Journal of the S. P. R., February, 1908, pp. 180-6, is to be found 
a summary of Sir Oliver Lodge's "scheme of personality'"' — a remarkably in- 
genious theory, which should be published in full and certainly at as early a 
date as possible. Sir Oliver Lodge represents the total self by two semicircles, 
"abutting against one another, after the manner of a placenta." The upper 
is the mental, the lower the physical, side of man. "Life" unites these two 
pieces by means of the brain (p. 180). Nevertheless, Dr. Lodge evidently 
thinks that "the brain" is not the only factor involved in this necessary con- 
nection, for on page 183 he says: ''''Vitality unites the two halves and pierces 
the boundary. . . ." This is a clear statement of a belief that vitality is that 
which unites mind and matter — as I have been contending all along. But if 
vitality were nothing more mysterious than chemical affinity, e.g., and no nearer 
the fountain of life, why should not that form the connecting link — just as well 
as vitality? Why should not heat, or light, or any other force, for that matter? 
In the sentence quoted above there is at least a tacit assumption that vitality is 
something more than mere mechanical force; and further, that it unites mind 
and matter! I think this is a position that will one day come to be generally 
accepted; and it will be seen that this really places vitality outside the law of 
conservation (as I have so strongly contended it should be placed), and acknowl- 
edges that it is a force with quite individual peculiarities of its own — a force 
"absolutely per se." 



298 Eusapia Palladino 

vestigators, however, applied his theory to the most remark- 
able of all the phenomena — those implying an external 
intelligence (materializations, e.g.) — and apparently it could 
not be stretched so as to cover them. The theory I am 
about to advance, while closely akin to some of these hypoth- 
eses, also differs from them in some important particulars, 
and is capable of explaining all the facts in a satisfactory 
manner. I shall now endeavor to state this view as briefly 
as possible. 

The nervous or vital energy, for whose existence I have 
been so strenuously arguing, is normally limited to the 
periphery of the body, and never extends beyond it. But 
under certain conditions, of which we know nothing at 
present, it is possible for this force to extend beyond the 
limits of the body, and produce certain material movements 
and displacements of objects in the external world. This 
force would be, supposedly, at such times under the sub- 
conscious control of the medium, and might even pass 
slightly under the control of her voluntary mind, and be 
directed by her — just as the muscles of respiration are usually 
under the control of the subconscious mind, but we can 
also bring them under the control of the conscious mind at 
will. The sphincter muscles would be a still better example 
of this — muscles over which we have normally even less 
control, but which we yet can control, at least in part, by 
an effort of will. So, then, this force, being more or less 
directly controlled by the mind of the medium (conscious 
and subconscious) and acting beyond the periphery of the 
body, would be enabled to produce all the effects of class one 
of the phenomena previously enumerated. The vital en- 
ergy would form the intermediary or connecting link be- 
tween the mind of the medium and the production of the 



Eusapia Palladino 299 

movement — and would cause the phenomenon in that man- 
ner. All of the phenomena apparently devoid of intel- 
ligence, or those under the control of the medium, could be 
explained by this hypothesis, which indeed presents nothing 
distinctly new so far. It is closely akin to several others 
that have been advanced. 

But now we come to the second group of facts — those 
produced and controlled, apparently, by some external in- 
telligence. How are these usually accounted for? Usually, 
it must be admitted, they are not accounted for at all — or 
so incompletely as to leave the mind totally unsatisfied with 
the explanations. I have pointed out the defects of these 
theories before and it is unnecessary to repeat the arguments 
here. They simply do not explain. They explain the facts 
of group one, but not those of group two. If any of these 
phenomena are such in reality (and it seems very clear to 
me that they are), the spiritistic hypothesis is the only ra- 
tional one to account for the facts; is the only one worthy 
of serious consideration. When hands, faces, and forms 
appear, when conversations are carried on with these forms, 
in a language unknown to the medium, about matters private 
and unknown to her, it seems preposterous to attempt to 
explain these facts in any other way than to admit that a 
spiritual entity is present and active there. The spiritistic 
hypothesis is the only one that in any way explains the facts, 
and I shall accordingly adopt it, until some better explana- 
tion be forthcoming. 

Granting, then, that a spiritual intelligence is active, how 
are we to conceive that it produces these effects? "Spirit" 
being supposedly pure mind, or closely related to it, it can- 
not act upon the material world directly, or effect changes 
in it. In order for this to take place there must be some 



300 Eusapia Palladino 

intermediary, as I have before insisted upon; but I now 
think we are in a position to see in what this intermediary 
consists. // is the nervous, vital force of the medium, ex- 
ternalized by her beyond her body and utilized by the mani- 
festing spirit for the purposes of its manifestation. This 
same vital energy, which is controlled by the medium's own 
mentality, when producing the phenomena of class one, is 
utilized by the manifesting intelligence in very much the 
same manner (when the medium is in trance) in producing 
the manifestations and phenomena of class two. We might 
conceive that this vital energy is utilized by the manifesting 
intelligence, who imbibes and clothes himself with it, as it 
were — creating a sort of temporary fluidic body through 
which it can manifest — can come in contact with the 
material world, move material objects, be seen, felt, and 
even photographed. Normally, such an intelligence would be 
separated from our world by the veil of sense; but now a 
link is supplied enabling the phantom to become more "ma- 
terial" in a way, for the time being — sufficiently so, at least, 
to cause the various manifestations we have recorded, and to 
produce the materializations so frequently attested to in 
Eusapia's seances. The vitality would act as a sort of sheath 
or cloak, a semi-material substance through and by means 
of which a spirit can manifest to us here, and initiate the 
varied phenomena witnessed at Eusapia's seances. 

Thus and thus only, it seems to me, can these phenomena 
be explained. By postulating this intermediary, this vital 
connection between the material and the spiritual worlds, 
can we explain all the facts at these seances, and in no other 
way. Normally, of course, this vitality would not be 
liberated in this manner; it would remain shut up within 
the medium's organism, it would not be "at large/' and 



Eusapia Palladino 301 

hence could not be "pounced upon" and utilized by any 
foreign intelligence in order to produce physical effects of 

and. But occasionally there are cases, seemingly, where 
this exrernalization takes place spontaneously, and without 
the knowledge, and even against the will, of the ''medium.'' 
When this occurs, we have the "electric girls" and the 
sporadic poltergeist cases — which still remain in spite of 
all the attempts to explain them away! By postulating 

ital energy (for whose existence I have so frequently 
contended, both on the grounds of accepted physiology and 
because of these phenomena), we can explain the facts, and, 
it seems to me, in no other way can we explain them. When 
the phenomena of psychical research come to be generally 
accepted, we shall have to recast many of our conceptions 
and beliefs; and one of the first of these will be our idea 
of vitality and the life force. Much hinges on this for 
. research, and. if its advocates could but see it, the 
battle might be practically won on this issue alone. How- 
ever, that is beside the question for our present purposes. 
I have advanced my hypothesis — the most rational, to my 
mind, for accounting for these facts; and I leave it to its 
fate — together with all the other speculations and hypotheses 
that have been advanced from time to time in the pas: ! 



CHAPTER VII 

BIOLOGICAL AND PSYCHOLOGICAL CONSIDERATIONS 

Professor Flournoy, in his most interesting and scholarly 
book, From India to the Planet Mars, makes the following 
remarks regarding the study of the supernormal: 

"It goes without saying that in treating of the super- 
normal we must admit theoretically its possibility, or — which 
amounts to about the same thing — fail to believe in the in- 
fallibility and perfection of present-day science. If I con- 
sider it a priori absolutely impossible for an individual to 
know sometime before the arrival of a telegram containing 
the news of an accident by which his brother at the An- 
tipodes has been killed, or that another can voluntarily move 
an object at a distance without having a string attached to 
it, and contrary to the laws of mechanics and physiology, it 
is clear that I will shrug my shoulders at every mention of 
telepathy, and I shall not move a step to be present at a 
seance with Eusapia Palladino. What an excellent means 
of enlarging one's horizon, and of discovering something 
new by being satisfied with one's ready-made science and 
preconceived opinion — quite convinced beforehand that the 
Universe ends at the wall opposite, that there is nothing to 
be obtained beyond that which daily routine has accustomed 
us to look upon as the limit of the Real! This philosophy 
of the ostrich, illustrated formerly by those grotesque monu- 
ments of erudition — over whom Galileo did not know 
whether to laugh or weep — who refused to put their eyes to 
the glass for fear of seeing something which had no official 
right to existence, and again, that of many brains petrified 
by the unseasonable works of scientific vulgarization and the 

3©j 



Eusapia Palladino 303 

unintelligent frequenting of universities — these are the two 
great intellectual dangers of our time." 

Professor Flournoy bases his argument on two general 
propositions, which he terms, respectively, the Principle of 
Hamlet and the Principle of Laplace. The first is, "All is 
possible" ; the second is, "The weight of the evidence should 
be proportioned to the strangeness of the facts." 

True to these principles — which appear to me to be quite 
sound — let us examine the evidence in the case of Eusapia 
Palladino. There can be no doubt that, were the facts in 
this case not so strange, they would have received acceptance 
long before now. Had Eusapia not been known by that 
odious term "medium," many of the "scientific" objections 
would doubtless have been removed, and still more would 
have been removed were it said, merely, that this woman 
had the capacity for moving physical objects without contact. 
The united and mutually confirming testimony of the many 
hundreds of sitters who have shared in the seances of this 
medium would have proved beyond all reasonable doubt the 
veritable existence of the phenomena, were they less startling 
in character. But when we find facts not only unexplained, 
but, apparently, running counter to the whole of human 
experience; when such facts contradict, apparently, the 
known laws of biology, physics, and psychology — what can 
the average man think but that there must be a mistake 
somewhere, and that, rather than admit the facts, he would 
prefer to believe that the investigators have one and all been 
deluded, either by some process of hallucination or by the 
tricks of a clever medium? 

And yet the facts are real! To my mind, at least, they 
can no longer be doubted. Certainly I did not think so 
until I had obtained my own sittings and seen phenomena 



304 *■ Eusapia Palladino 

occur under conditions which absolutely precluded fraud as 
effectually as they prevented hallucination. Having been 
convinced, however, that one does witness extraordinary phe- 
nomena at such times, I contend that it becomes our 
duty to study such facts in detail ; to ascertain the conditions 
under which they are obtained, and endeavor, if possible, 
to improve them; in short, to examine into the physiological 
and psychological peculiarities of the medium, studying, as 
best we may, the conditions under which these phenomena 
have been obtained. To these I accordingly turn. 

Professor Lombroso, in his paper Eusapia Palladino and 
Spiritism, tells us the following interesting facts regarding 
the medium and her phenomena: 

"She (Eusapia) weighs 132 pounds, and her weight does 
not (usually) vary after a seance. The left eye presents the 
Claude Bernard-Horner phenomenon, as in the case of epi- 
leptics. . . . 

"The sensitiveness to pain is sixty on the right and thirty 
on the left side, being much more delicate than that of 
normal persons, whose general sensitiveness when measured 
by the same methods showed 45 mm. and sensitiveness to 
pain 20 mm. The sense of weight is unequal with left- 
handedness. . . . On one occasion, when she was in a nor- 
mal state, in full light, she held her left hand for four min- 
utes on a photographic plate, covered with three sheets of 
opaque paper. This sufficed to throw her in a state of 
trance, and caused her to feel in her hand an electric shudder. 
When the plate was developed, at the spot which corre- 
sponded with her index finger, there was a blurred line of 
the length of her finger. This fact, which is perhaps con- 
nected with spiritistic radioactivity, may be compared with 
an analogous fact observed by Flammarion, which was that 
of a diaphanous luminosity round the outlines of the fingers, 
which almost formed a second misshapen outline. 'When 



Eusapia Palladino 305 

I have this token,' she said, 'I can obtain wonderful things/ 
. . . The hypnotic phenomena which resemble spiritistic phe- 
nomena so much that they are easily confused with them, are 
frequent with Eusapia, though she neither perceives metals 
nor magnets. Thus, Dr. Arullani, merely by rubbing her 
brow with his hand, succeeded in hypnotizing her, and soon 
made her fall into a cataleptic state. She has also morbid in- 
dications, which almost amount to hysteria; she passes 
quickly from joy to sorrow; she has strange fears — for in- 
stance, that of soiling her hands; she is very impressionable, 
and subject to dreams in spite of her ripe age; she has fre- 
quent hallucinations, and also fears her shadow. As a child 
she used to think that she saw two eyes gazing at her behind 
the trees and hedges. When she is angry, particularly when 
she is offended concerning her reputation as a medium, she is 
violent and repulsive, and reviles her enemies. . . . These 
tendencies are in strong contrast with her remarkable kindli- 
ness, which makes her give what she earns to relieve the suf- 
ferings of the poor and of children, inspires her with a gen- 
erous pity for the aged and weak to such a degree as to render 
her sleepless, and impels her to protect animals, even by ill 
treating those who injure them. 

"In the trance state, which occurs even in full light, merely 
by concentrating her attention on an object, she first turns 
pale, the pupils of her eyes turn upward and inward, her 
head moving from side to side; she then becomes ecstatic, 
and many of her gestures are similar to those habitual to 
hysterical subjects, such as yawns, spasmodic laughter, fre- 
quent mystification, and at the same time vision at a distance ; 
her language is then sometimes very elevated, and even 
scientific, often in a foreign tongue, with very rapid idealiza- 
tion, so that she seizes the ideas of those present, even when 
they are not expressed aloud, or translates them into some 
mysterious form, as, for instance, when Professor Morselli, 
in order to indicate that he suspected fraud, uttered the let- 
ters E. T. V. 

"At the close of the seance, the most important incidents 
are produced. She has veritable convulsions, and cries out as 



3o6 Eusapia Palladino 

if in distress and falls into profound sleep, and from the 
parietal depression a warm fluid evaporates, sensible to the 
touch. During the trance she transmits many of her powers 
to those present by touching them for a few minutes at a 
time, as Home could communicate momentary incombusti- 
bility. After the seance she evinces morbid hyperaesthetic 
and photophobic sensibility. She has frequent hallucinations, 
and becomes delirious, asking to be guarded lest anyone 
should hurt her. She has serious digestive disturbances, so 
that she is sick if she has eaten before the seance; and finally 
she exhibits actual paralysis of the legs, so that it is necessary 
to carry her and to dress her. These disturbances become 
much worse if, through the carelessness of some one present, 
she is exposed during the seance to sudden illumination, and 
this recalls to us the account of the Pythoness of Delphi 
whose lives were shortened by their prophesying. . . ." 

A large number of seances w T ere held with Eusapia by 
Professor Enrico Morselli, Director of the Clinic for Nerv- 
ous and Mental Diseases of the University of Genoa. He 
has published the results of his investigations in two large 
volumes, entitled Psychology and Spiritism. A few passages 
I quote herewith — as representative of Professor Mor- 
selli's views on Eusapia: 

"These phenomena, the acceptance of which I at first con- 
sidered to be due to deception or gullibility, to fraud or illu- 
sion of the senses, to simple faith or preconception, are, in the 
very great majority of cases, real and certain, and the small 
minority, as to which I am uncertain, do not in any way 
disprove the existence of a category of extraordinary, preter- 
normal facts, which depend upon the special organization or 
activity of certain individuals. ... It is important to de- 
fine the mental state of the medium during the phenomena. 
I will only say here that whereas, for the minor phenomena 
(raps, movements of the table, levitations, etc.), Eusapia 
can be seen to be awake and attentive — although very soon 



Eusapia Palladino 307 

her attention is restricted to certain groups of perceptions — 
yet in the case of the major phenomena, those of great signifi- 
cance in the spiritistic doctrine, and more novel to the ob- 
server (such as strong action at a distance, apparitions, forms, 
phantoms), it is necessary that her consciousness should be ob- 
scured in trance, and her will in suspense. It is only then 
that we have the automatic discharge of the energies which 
we will call 'mediumistic' accumulated in her nervous cen- 
ters. Then only do we enter into the mysterious and sur- 
prising region of true spiritism." 

Professor Morselli offers the following interesting remarks 
relative to Eusapia's mental state before and during trance : 

"1. First of all, the modifications in the state of conscious- 
ness of the medium and sitters during the seances. In Eusa- 
pia, who is a subject from whom a very conclusive study 
can be made, the consciousness is now clear, now clouded 
up to complete suspension ; she then very plainly shows the 
operation of the subconsciousness, which is of such great im- 
portance in modern psychology. 

"2. The state of auto-hypnosis, to which the Anglo- 
American spiritists have given the name of 'trance.' I have 
been able to follow its phases, examine its symptoms, con- 
vince myself of its affinity with hysterical states and with 
hypnotism, with reserve as to the existence of a 'magnetic' 
state distinct from the 'hypnotic' state. 

' '3. Suggestibility. Eusapia is not only hypnotizable, but 
also suggestible in the waking state; she is then dominated 
by various auto-suggestions, among which I may include all 
the superstitious beliefs as to her previous existence in another 
body ( ?), her present reincarnation, her submission to a spirit 
guide ('John King,' who was her father in a previous life), 
etc. This mass of improbabilities and 'spiritistic' conjectures 
has formed itself in her mind by the suggestion of others 
(training by Damiani, instruction of Chiaja, influence of 
spiritistic circles, etc.). Eusapia is very ignorant, and one 
cannot listen to her without smiling w4ien she tries to put 



308 Eusapia Palladino 

forward her naive or involved explanations of her own phe- 
nomena. She, however, does not speak much or willingly 
of theoretical spiritism ; she does not do like Home, Stainton 
Moses, or Mme. d'Esperance, who took upon themselves the 
office of doctrinarian propagandists. Eusapia is indeed proud 
of her mediumistic athleticism, and becomes triumphantly 
sarcastic toward the incredulous when any extraordinary 
phenomenon succeeds well, but is modest enough in professing 
or thinking of herself as a living champion of preternormal 
psychology. 

"4. Oniric or dream phenomena. A great part even of 
the material phenomena of Palladino's mediumship is con- 
nected with her strong, though monotonous and stereotyped, 
activity during sleep. 

"5. Personifications. Ordinarily in the mediumistic half- 
sleep, and still more so in 'trance,' Eusapia believes herself 
changed into other personalities, into the child of 'John King,' 
which she had been in a former incarnation. Sometimes it 
seems that she herself is impersonated in John King, who 
speaks through her mouth and acts through her. Other 
times she personifies the spirits of the deceased whom, by 
desire of those present, or for reasons of proselytism, she 
imagines that she evokes. This transformation of person- 
ality offers a large field for psychological research, but in 
Eusapia it does not assume the intense coloring nor the power 
of expression seen in other intellectual and intuitive me- 
diums and psychographists, as, for instance, in Flournoy's 
Helene Smith, of Geneva, or of Randone, of Rome. 

"6. Communications and messages in Italian. These are 
mostly given by means of the table (^ptology'), rarely 
with the voice (exceptionally, they say, by writing also). 
During our sittings, as we gave the most attention to physi- 
cal effects, these phenomena, always scarce with Eusapia, 
were extremely rare and of little interest. 

"7. Communications in foreign languages. One or two 
are attributed to Eusapia, who speaks even Italian very badly, 
and expresses herself only in a corrupt vernacular; but al- 
though this was asserted to me by persons worthy of belief, 



Eusapia Palladino 309 

no such phenomenon was observed by me, and I have strong 
doubts about it. 

"8. Divination of thought and mental suggestion. I have 
collected a few examples of these, chiefly in the series of sit- 
tings in 1 90 1 -2 ; they were also described by my companion in 
the group, Dr. G. Venzano, an excellent observer; however, 
they appear to me probable rather than proved, and many at- 
tempts of mine to suggestionize Eusapia mentally were fruit- 
less, though I succeeded in hypnotizing her; this, however, 
does not imply that others may not obtain better results. 

"9. Lucidity and clairvoyance. It has not been proved 
to me that Eusapia hears or sees or feels at a distance, nor 
that she has premonitions, or precognitions, or presents other 
similar metapsychic phenomena. I believe that Chiaja has 
asserted it, but it would be necessary to examine her more at 
ease, and while living close to her. 

"10. Externalization of sensibility. The able observer, 
Colonel de Rochas says that Palladino has given him some 
elementary phenomena of this very singular subnormal state ; 
I also have succeeded in making her perceive (with closed 
eyes) pricks with a pin made in the air an inch or two from 
her skin, but I am not certain about all my experiments; I 
should have to repeat and scrupulously verify them, and not 
as passing and half-concealed observations; this is not easy 
to do, on account of the repugnance of Eusapia (and of all 
mediums) to physiological examinations. 

"All this subjective portion of the mediumistic phenomena 
is revealed by the attitude, the deportment, the physiognomy 
and mimetic action, the speech and the entire conduct of Eu- 
sapia; and if on the whole even the amateurs of seances and 
the uninitiated in psychology are able to grasp superficially 
the main and most apparent lines, in reality it belongs to us, 
psychologists and medical alienists, to apply to the subjective 
phenomena of mediums the analytic and synthetic methods 
and procedures of psychical examination; and I have given 
a particularized exposition of these methods in the two vol- 
umes of my Semejotica delle malattie mentali, as I give it in 
my lessons in experimental psychology." 



310 Eusapia Palladino 

There is a great deal to learn about Eusapia's seances, 
for they are far more complicated than would appear at 
first sight. One must be familiar, not only with the general 
run of the phenomena, and know what to expect, but one 
must make a careful psychological study of the medium, in 
order to insure the best results, and cater, more or less, to 
her various prejudices and idiosyncrasies. Thus, Eusapia 
has a great dislike to soiling her hands. She has a great 
antipathy to mechanical or electrical apparatus of any kind, 
or to anything that she does not understand. She dislikes 
excessively being controlled in too severe a manner — since, 
if her hands are grasped too firmly, or if the controller's feet 
are planted too solidly on hers, it pains her, because of the 
hyperaesthetic patches or zones on the backs of her hands, and 
on her insteps. Some investigators endeavor to force the 
phenomena — that is to say, insist upon their production, claim- 
ing that the best results can be obtained in this manner. 
Others, on the contrary, who have had equal experience, con- 
tend that this is entirely the wrong course, and that the in- 
vestigators should merely sit expectantly, without controlling 
the medium more than is necessary, and wait passively for 
results. If no attention be paid to the lesser phenomena oc- 
curring in Eusapia's immediate vicinity, say these investiga- 
tors, more important phenomena will be obtained at a dis- 
tance. I may say that this is opposed to Professor Morselli's 
observations, and to our own. We discovered that the more 
rigorous the control, other things being equal, and the greater 
the contact with the medium's body, the better the results. 
Above all, suspicion must not be shown at a seance, for if 
Eusapia feels ill at ease on this account, phenomena will 
almost invariably be inhibited. This is not due to fear that 
close investigation will expose her in trickery, since, no mat- 



Eusapia Palladino 311 

ter how rigorous the control, if suspicion be not manifested, 
excellent phenomena will result. 

On some occasions Eusapia will talk of "John King," her 
supposed control, and of spirits ; at other times she will speak 
of "my fluid" or of the "wind" that issues from her head, 
leg, and various other parts of her body. As a matter of 
fact, her own idea of the phenomena seems quite hazy and ill- 
defined. It is a great pity that a medium cannot arise such 
as Eusapia, who is, at the same time, a psychologist ! 

Eusapia talks but little during a seance, except at first, 
when she is, generally, finishing some narrative begun before 
she entered the seance room, and continued after she has 
seated herself at the table. But this soon lags, and silence 
intervenes, except for an occasional remark addressed to the 
sitters, or a few words addressed to "John." Generally, 
during the seance, however, the table will tilt four times, be- 
ing the conventional code adopted to signify "talk." The 
investigators are thereupon expected to converse, not to Eu- 
sapia, but to each other, and a phenomenon generally occurs 
soon after this signal is given. We ourselves did not do so, 
however, as a rule, regarding it (evidentially) as an attempt 
to distract our attention, and spoke but little, while we re- 
doubled our attention. Phenomena invariably followed 
nevertheless. When Eusapia has passed into deep trance, 
she rarely speaks at all, and all conversation with the in- 
telligent agent, whatever it is, producing these phenomena, 
is carried on through the table — which is tilted automatic- 
ally — or by raps, or levitations, which are apparently pro- 
duced by the agent direct, and without the intervention of 
her physical body. 

Eusapia's psychology is a puzzle to all her investigators. 
Questioned about her phenomena, she either offers contra- 



312 Eusapia Palladino 

dictory or unintelligible replies, or shrugs her shoulders and 
says nothing. We asked her on one occasion what feelings 
she experienced when a phenomenon was about to take place. 
She said she felt annoyed, irritated, somewhat nauseated, 
and, just before the production of the phenomenon, a cloud 
seemed to pass over her mind, and she remembered nothing 
until it had transpired. She stated that she remembered most 
of the phenomena that happened during our early seances, 
but occasionally had lapses of memory when important phe- 
nomena took place, and sometimes, as during the sixth seance, 
remembered very little of what had transpired. This is a 
significant fact, seeming to show that during the lesser phe- 
nomena, when the energy is directed by her own will, she 
retains memory of all that occurs; but during the more im- 
portant phenomena, so to speak, when an independent in- 
telligence is shown, she remembers little or nothing of such 
occurrences. It would seem that when "John King" (what- 
ever that may mean) is merged with her personality, amnesia 
takes place, and the more important phenomena are produced. 

Eusapia stated to us that she is rarely or never troubled 
with manifestations, or is in any way psychic or mediumistic 
at other times than during the seance; then only are her 
powers displayed. She has, two or three times during her 
life, experienced premonitions and vivid dreams, but such 
experiences could be counted on the fingers of one hand and 
are probably not more numerous than many persons have 
experienced in their own lifetimes. In this she differs from 
other mediums, who have been, as a rule, more or less psychic 
constantly, and phenomena have frequently occurred in their 
presence when they did not wish them to do so, and against 
their own direct volition. 

Eusapia was quite unable to tell us how she could dis- 



Eusapia Palladino 313 

tinguish one phenomenon from another when it was about 
to occur, though this distinction is certainly clear in her own 
mind, and their production depends largely upon her will 
in many cases, since she frequently says, "I will show you 
a head," or, "I will fetch such and such an object from the 
cabinet," and the head is shown, or the object is fetched im- 
mediately afterwards. 

It is an interesting psychological fact that phenomena may 
occasionally be obtained by merely clamoring for them, when 
otherwise they would not have manifested at all. Thus, 
Mr. Gilman Hall obtained lights by incessantly demanding 
them, and this happened upon various other occasions, with 
different investigators. It is probable that this adds some 
stimulus to the phenomena, but what that stimulus is 
(whether it be the psychological effect upon Eusapia, or 
whether added energy is really unconsciously liberated by 
the sitters, because of their mental attitude, or whether the 
words uttered are heard by "John," and have a stimulating 
effect upon him) I do not know. But it is certain that this 
insistent clamoring for phenomena will generally result in 
their production. 

Foreign objects unknown to, and previously untouched by, 
the medium do not seem to be so likely to be operated upon 
as more familiar objects. I myself at first tried to get things 
out of my pocket moved, but unsuccessfully. Later I chose 
things belonging to or connected with Eusapia — taking them, 
however, secretly and arranging them as I pleased before- 
hand. These were successfully moved in almost every case, 
provided they were inside the room. It may be well for in- 
tending experimenters to remember that when they seal things 
up or otherwise place them for experiment, it is preferable 
to choose something previously handled by the medium, and 



314 Eusapia Palladino 

not some foreign object, without interest for her or in as- 
sociation with her. The probability that the latter objects 
are best may sound suspicious, as so many other things may 
sound, but, so far as I can see, the suspicious nature of the fact 
is only apparent; such objects will serve the purpose as well 
as any other if properly arranged, and cannot be held re- 
sponsible for the human character of the manifestation; nor 
can it be considered altogether unreasonable. 

How can we conceive such objects to be moved? Is there 
a veritable actio ad distansf Or is some energy projected 
from the periphery of the medium's body, and propagated 
by means of waves, through the air, or through the ether? 
Is it human vitality that is thus externalized, or is it some 
other force, wholly unknown? We cannot say. Certain it 
is that no instrument has as yet succeeded in measuring this 
force, which seems only to affect the object it strikes. Sir 
Oliver Lodge, commenting on these phenomena, in the 
Journal of the S. P. R., November, 1894, says: 

. "Physical movements imply a source of energy, and it may 
be assumed that the energy is drawn from those present — 
principally, I suppose, almost entirely, from the medium, 
who was sometimes completely exhausted — although she was 
usually quite restored by a night's rest. I shall leave others 
to report on the dynamometer readings, which, as already 
incidentally mentioned, were taken before and after each 
seance, in order to ascertain, if possible, the source of the 
energy; nothing has yet been clearly proved by them so far 
as I know, but if once the movements are admitted, it will 
be conceded that animal vitality is the most natural, indeed 
the only likely, source of the energy employed. ... I do not 
regard the attempt at detection of the seat of the reaction as 
affecting the evidence for the reality of the movements, but 
as conveying informations as to the laws of the unknown 
force. I anticipate, but quite gratuitously, that the reaction 



Eusapia Palladino 315 

will be found on the person of the medium, so that when 
she is supporting a table she will be found heavier by the 
weight of the table, 1 but it by no means necessarily follows 
that it is so ; it is conceivable that the reaction will be diffused 
through the room. A reaction may be taken up and diffused 
by air molecules — as, for instance, in the case of a lamb be- 
ing carried off by an eagle ; it would not in that case be easy 
to demonstrate the still existing weight of the lamb. It is 
a matter for experiment to determine where the reaction is ; 
and if no adequate reaction can be found, the phenomenon 
will have to be likened more nearly to the action of a flying 
animal than to that of an animal resting on the ground." 2 

During a sitting, and for the production of phenomena, 
a large amount of Eusapia's energy is sapped, and, other 
things being equal, the better the seance, and the more re- 
markable the phenomena, the greater is this depletion of vital 
forces. After a seance, Eusapia is indeed a pitiable object. 
She appears shrunken together, weak, nauseated, with loss 
of memory of much that has transpired, her face deeply lined 
and sallow — giddiness, and general uncertainty as to her sur- 
roundings — these are all symptoms which are observed at the 
conclusion of the seance, when even graver symptoms, such 
as hysteria, partial paralysis, etc., do not supervene. 

This vitality, which seems to be used in the production of 
the phenomena, while it is drawn mostly from the medium, 
is certainly drawn in large part from the circle also. All 
of us noticed this more or less, and slept to an unusually late 
hour the following morning. Further, in my own case es- 
pecially — perhaps because of my continued bodily contact 

1 This supposition has now been proved correct. The Psychological Insti- / 
tute of Paris found this to be the case. 

2 For a further discussion of these difficult questions, see Count de Couden- 
hove's article, "Concerning Physical Phenomena in Mediumship," in the July- 
September (1909) Annals (pp. 467-483). 



316 Eusapia Palladino 

with the medium — I noticed after about six seances a pain 
in the base of the brain, and a general feeling of exhaustion, 
which many others have experienced at the beginning of an 
invasion by external intelligences, and in cases of so-called 
"obsession." I did not notice this during the seance itself, 
but generally afterwards, and particularly the following 
morning. It is interesting to note in this connection that 
Mrs. Piper's trances, when the sittings have been very success- 
ful, draw vitality in a similar manner from the sitters. Dr. 
Hodgson especially noticed this, and one of his chief reasons 
for keeping so perpetually in perfect physical training was 
to build up and offset the vital drain which the sittings con- 
stituted during the first two or three days of every week. 

Eusapia stated on one occasion that the phenomena were 
produced in proportion to the density of the will of the me- 
dium — by the force of the will of the medium. She stated 
that the combined will of the sitters helped to secure results. 
Sometimes phenomena obey the strongest will in the circle- 
as was demonstrated at a seance held on June 1 1, 1905. 
Exercise of the will of the medium will induce phenomena; 
and corresponding to this exercise of will power, contractions 
of her muscles, either of the arm, the leg, or even of the neck, 
take place. Music was not found to be beneficial ; rather the 
contrary. 

On another occasion Eusapia said that there were two 
kinds of fluidic currents: one proceeding from the cabinet, 
and the other proceeding from the chain of sitters. The one 
coming from the cabinet was, so to say, fed by that coming 
from the chain. In her Paris experiments she defined dif- 
ferently the character of the fluids coming from the different 
controllers. That of M. Yourievitch was jerky or spas- 
modic; that of M. Courtier was strong and tranquil; that 



Eusapia Palladino 317 

of M. d'Arsonval was gentle and favorable. She also named 
the various sensations which she experienced, and which, 
she said, came from the hands of various persons. The 
moral characters of her controllers also plays a very impor- 
tant part in the production of phenomena — according to 
Eusapia. 

Dr. Ochorowicz, in discussing another case under ob- 
servation by him at the time (that of Mile. Tomczyk), gives 
a theoretical explanation of the manner in which objects are 
transported from place to place, levitated, etc. This ex- 
planation was made to him by "John King," and is to the 
following effect: 

"After having explained the duplication of the medium's 
hands in the fluidic attonchments, John, that is to say Eusa- 
pia, in complete trance, gave me still further explanations 
as to the transport of slates. With a view of obtaining some 
sign by writing, we had prepared two slates, tied together 
and placed in the center of the table. 

"When John was explaining to me that it was easier for 
him to materialize the tips of the fingers and the nails than 
any other part of the arm, I felt something hard tapping 
lightly on my head. 

" 'Those are the slates,' said John. 

"In answer to my question as to how he was able to hold 
them in the air, he gave me all his theory, which I will try 
to reproduce as faithfully as possible: 

"The hands of all present, and principally the medium's, 
release an emanation which John simply called 'fluid.' This 
fluid forms bundles of straight rays, which are like stretched 
threads and support the slates. When these threads or rays 
are sufficiently strong, the object may perhaps be raised above 
the heads, because then the rays converge on to a surface or 
a point of the object, becoming, so to speak, rigid, and the 
object rests on them as on shafts. But their power depends 
on certain conditions, and, above all, on the harmony es- 



318 Eusapia Palladino 

tablished between the various fluids. By suddenly changing 
the conditions, for example, by breaking the chain of hands, 
you cut the current and the power from the fluidic rays 
is dispersed. 

"In order to verify this assertion of John's, I suddenly 
withdrew my hands from my neighbor on my left, and im- 
mediately the slates fell onto the table. 

" 'That is true,' I said to John, 'but do you know that I 
had an impression that the slates had fallen from the me- 
dium's head?' 

'* 'I shall prove to you by and by that you made a mistake.' 

"We reformed the chain, as he directed, and a few minutes 
afterwards the slates were again in the air, above our heads. 
'And now lift up your hand,' said John. We raised our 
hands, Eusapia and I, as high as it was possible without let- 
ting go of each other's hands, and the slates manifested their 
presence at that height several times by touching our hands. 

"It was evident: 

"i. That the slates were much higher than the medium's 
head. 

"2. That the raising of both our hands, without breaking 
the chain, did not in any way interfere with the mechanical 
action of John's rays." 

It was ascertained by us that, in the trance state, a greater 
or lesser degree of amnesia was present. We ascertained, 
moreover— which the Paris investigators did not — that, the 
more important the phenomena, other things being equal, the 
greater the degree of amnesia. 

Excessive hyperesthesia was ascertained by the Paris inves- 
tigators to be present in the hands, head and feet. Eusapia 
prefers to hold the hands of her controllers, rather than be 
held by them. These hyperaesthetic spots appear in zones or 
patches — a common phenomenon in hysterical cases. This 
hyperaesthetic condition is particularly marked on her shoul- 
der blades. 



Eusapia Palladino 319 

Further, notes were taken of the respiration, circulation, 
blood pressure, and pulse rate — before and after the seance. 
Experiments were conducted with the galvanometer. An 
analysis of the urine was also made. 

A number of experiments were conducted, seeming to show 
that objects placed in the immediate neighborhood of Eusa- 
pia varied in weight. Eusapia also succeeded in discharging 
an electroscope without contact. 1 

It is a very interesting fact, and one telling strongly in 
favor of the genuine character of the phenomena, it seems 
to me, that just before their production, and especially at 
the commencement of the seance, Eusapia shows certain 
physiological peculiarities. Thus, we frequently noticed that 
the medium hiccoughed violently whenever she went into a 
trance (or whenever she did not pass into trance, if phe- 
nomena were following), but this soon left her. She also 
sighs, groans, and seems to be extremely uncomfortable, until 
the phenomena are well under way; and especially during 
the production of any larger phenomena she cries, "Oh, dear! 
Oh, dear!" and groans repeatedly. When she passes into 
trance, however, this suffering is lost, and partial or com- 
plete amnesia and anaesthesia take the place of the former 
hyperesthesia, and acutely alert consciousness. The lesser 

1 This phenomenon has been recorded several times by other observers. 
Thus, in the August-September Annals, 1908, is an article by Dr. Imoda, en- 
titled "The Action of Eusapia Palladino on the Electroscope." He observed 
this phenomenon repeatedly. He observed, also, that the instrument was not 
discharged immediately, as would be the case were a radium salt introduced, 
but "in the case of Eusapia the discharge did not take place until after several 
minutes, as though the body of the medium, previously passive, suddenly pro- 
jected a jet of these radiations. That is to say, the emission of the mediumistic 
rays appeared not to be continuous, but by shocks, as, perhaps, in the case with 
the electrical discharge of the gymnotus and torpedo. . . . The mediumistic 
rays are able of themselves to become a conductor of electricity, and that, in 
consequence, the radiations of radium, the cathodic radiations of the Crookes 
tube, and mediumistic radiations, are fundamentally the same." 



320 Eusapia Palladino 

phenomena are, apparently, nearly always remembered — the 
more remarkable ones are forgotten. 

One fact of interest and significance should be noticed 
here. During the greater portion of our early sittings the 
medium suffered from paroxysms of violent coughing, which 
came on as the seance opened. She had suffered from them 
more or less all day. But we invariably noticed that, as 
soon as the phenomena actually commenced, this cough com- 
pletely disappeared and did not again manifest itself until 
the conclusion of the seance, when the coughing was re- 
sumed. It was as though the energy normally used in the 
emotive process of coughing had, during the seance, become 
diverted into the production of the phenomena. One incident 
known to me seems to verify this supposition. My father 
used to be a great sufferer from neuralgia — the pain extend- 
ing up the cheek and including the teeth and ear. On one 
occasion he was suffering from a bad cold in the head and 
was continually "snuffing" and blowing his nose, and had 
been for some days past. On this occasion severe neuralgia 
set in on the evening of the second day and lasted all night. 
It disappeared in the morning, whereupon my father dis- 
covered for the first time that his cold had been entirely sus- 
pended during the entire night (he had not once desired to 
use his handkerchief) and did not return until the neuralgia 
had in turn left him! 

In this case it would appear that the vital energies of the 
body were so fully occupied by the pain of the neuralgia at- 
tack that they were monopolized by that, and were unable 
to "pay any attention" to the cold and its resultant phenome- 
na. They were diverted and directed into other channels, 
as it were. 

Similarly, it seems to me, are the energies of Eusapia di- 



Eusapia Palladino 321 

rected during a seance into the production of phenomena, 
and such minor manifestations as are represented by a cold 
and cough are allowed to "stand over" until the termina- 
tion of the seance, when they are again allowed free play. 
In any case, it seems to me, the fact tells in favor of the 
genuine character of the observed phenomena. 

There is one point I wish to emphasize just here, and that 
is that it is impossible to form a just estimate of Eusapia's 
sittings, and of the phenomena that occur thereat, until a 
large number of sittings has been obtained. Investigators 
frequently obtain two or three seances, or even one, and form 
definite opinions, one way or the other, as to the phenomena 
from that one sitting. It is quite impossible to do this with 
any fairness either to the medium or to her phenomena. It 
must be remembered that Eusapia is, in such cases, giving a 
first sitting — or, if given to different investigators, a series 
of first sittings, and it has been ascertained by direct ex- 
periment that Mrs. Piper's first sittings are almost invariably 
poor, and that the character of the evidence improves both 
as to quality and quantity the longer the sittings are con- 
tinued. Thus, the second sitting would be much better than 
the first, the third better than the second, and so on. It is 
the same with Eusapia. We noticed this especially in our 
sittings. The first (although good, and in it the phenomena 
were produced chiefly in the light) was limited to the produc- 
tion of three types of phenomena — viz. : table levitations, raps, 
and the blowing out of the cabinet curtains without apparent 
cause. At our second seance these same phenomena were 
repeated, but several others were added: movements of ob- 
jects without contact, playing upon musical instruments, etc. 
Every seance thenceforth added some fresh phenomenon. 
Lights, touches by invisible hands, appearance of visible 



322 Eusapia Palladino 

hands, appearance of heads, carrying about of objects, levita- 
tions of a small stool outside the cabinet, touches by visible 
hands — these were all added to our stock of phenomena as 
the seances progressed. On the whole, we were, therefore, 
much more impressed at the conclusion of the tenth seance 
than we were at the conclusion of the second or third. 

During the third seance, as I have said, we had detected 
fraud. The first two sittings had both been held in good 
light, and under excellent test conditions, and at the con- 
clusion of the second sitting it is safe to say that we were 
quite convinced of the reality of her phenomena. Our men- 
tal state at the close of the third sitting would be difficult 
to analyze. We had naturally reverted to a skeptical atti- 
tude, and yet the first two sittings impressed us almost as 
much as ever, and we were as totally unable as ever to ac- 
count for many of the phenomena we had observed. I 
cannot conceive a more exasperating state of affairs than to 
have two or three sittings, and be left in mid-air, so to speak, 
as to their interpretation. In spite of our utter inability to 
account for the phenomena of the first two seances, we never- 
theless should have felt ourselves quite unable to formulate 
any definite opinion either for or against, had we ter- 
minated our series at this seance. It was only after we had 
obtained several more sittings, and phenomena had been ob- 
served under what we conceived to be absolutely test condi- 
tions, that we were reconverted to a belief in her phenomena 
— a final, irrevocable belief. Whatever fraud we had dis- 
covered, whatever fraud might be discovered in the future, 
we felt and still feel that we had observed genuine phenome- 
na, which could not be explained by any methods of trickery 
or deceit. 

I have before referred to the manner in which the facts 



Eusapia Palladino 323 

rolled off our minds, and failed to find lodgment and force 
belief. Seance after seance, we remained doubtful, until the 
sixth, when we felt that we had become finally and irre- 
vocably convinced. The facts had at last found lodgment in 
our minds, and we felt that our observations had not been 
mistaken. Having once been convinced that genuine phe- 
nomena did occur, we determined, after the eighth seance, 
to relax our precautions somewhat, and give Eusapia freer 
play, so to speak. Accordingly, we allowed the medium to 
conduct herself largely as she chose, relaxing our precautions 
purposely in order to see the result. One might suppose, 
a priori, that better phenomena occurred in consequence of 
this. Such, however, was not the case. Eusapia immediately 
tried to trick us, and we again detected for the first time 
since the third seance, attempted substitution of hands! We 
accordingly insisted upon rigidity of control, and when this 
had been established, and all possibility of trickery eliminated, 
we again obtained excellent phenomena, under the best of 
conditions. 

As the result of our seances, we came to this conclusion : 
That when the force is strong, phenomena take place no mat- 
ter what conditions are imposed to prevent them — in fact, the 
more stringent the conditions, the more securely Eusapia is 
held, the better are the results obtained. We also found that 
the greater the contact between Eusapia's body and ours, the 
more forceful the phenomena, and the sooner do they set 
in. This agrees with Morselli's observation. He also noted 
this fact. On the contrary, if the force is weak, stringent 
control seems to offset phenomena — because it produces an 
adverse psychological condition in Eusapia. It makes her irri- 
table and suspicious, and phenomena do not occur in conse- 
quence. If they fail to appear, she endeavors to stimulate 



324 Eusapia Palladino 

their production by lowering the lights, until almost com- 
plete darkness results, by greater freedom of her hands and 
feet, and then, finally, if the phenomena fail to appear, by 
a resort to fraud. 

This again was illustrated in our own sittings. In the 
first two the power seemed to be strong, and Eusapia willing- 
ly submitted to any test conditions — good phenomena re- 
sulting notwithstanding. On the contrary, at the third 
seance, when she felt depressed and weary, phenomena failed 
to appear for more than an hour, and then only in almost 
complete darkness. Finally, Eusapia attempted fraud. 
Again, at the eighth seance the power appeared to be some- 
what weak, and nearly two hours elapsed before any im- 
portant phenomena occurred. We had asked Eusapia at this 
sitting if we might tie her hands and feet with rope (as we 
had on several previous occasions). She became exceedingly 
angry and refused to permit any tests of this character. In 
spite of the fact that her hands and feet were free, however, 
phenomena failed to appear, as we have seen. Yet, during 
our ninth sitting, Eusapia not only allowed us to tie her 
with rope, but even suggested it herself, and, in spite of this 
elaborate tying, and the most rigorous control, the phenomena 
commenced almost immediately, and were the most forceful 
and convincing we had seen throughout the whole series. 

It will be seen, therefore, that the production of good 
phenomena depends, not upon the rigor of the control, but 
upon the mental and physical wellbeing of the medium. If 
she is depressed, down-spirited, or fatigued, a poor seance in- 
variably results. Since the phenomena appear to depend 
largely upon the amount of reserve energy she possesses, this 
is only what we should expect, but it is interesting to note 
that the success of the seance seems to depend even more upon 



Eusapia Palladino 325 

her mental condition than upon her bodily health. If she is 
happy, high-spirited, elated in mind, remarkable manifesta- 
tions occur, no matter what the precautions taken. 

On several occasions the medium had had some domestic 
trouble before leaving home and arrived in a very irritable 
frame of mind. This seemed to offset the production of the 
phenomena far more than her physical health. The degree 
of the rigidity of the control seemed insignificant compared 
with it. 

All the investigators of Eusapia have discovered this fact, 
and have found it excellent policy to stimulate the production 
of phenomena by entertaining her in various ways. Dinners, 
theater parties, carriage drives, etc., flattering Eusapia, and 
in general inducing in her a buoyant, happy frame of mind, 
will do more to insure a good seance than any other method 
that has so far been devised. We tried the effect of these 
various diversions, and usually found that our expectations 
were fully realized, and that an excellent seance resulted. 

We did not find, however — contrary to general opinion, 
and contrary even to the belief of Eusapia herself — that an 
increase in the number of the circle affected the results bene- 
ficially — rather the reverse. Thus, we obtained excellent 
phenomena during our first three seances, when Mr. Feild- 
ing and I alone were present, controlling the medium, and 
under the most rigorous test conditions. At the fourth 
seance, at her request, we invited no less than five additional 
investigators, three of them personal friends of Eusapia, to 
join our circle. Eusapia had stated to us that the "current" 
of one or two of these gentlemen was particularly favorable 
and would be sure to induce good results. Nevertheless, the 
phenomena were weak and altogether unsatisfactory, and 
it was only after the departure of all the sitters, with the 



326 Eusapia Palladino 

exception of Professor Galeotti and ourselves, that we ob- 
tained phenomena that could in any way compare with those 
of the first seances. Again, at our eighth seance, four addi- 
tional sitters were present — besides one additional investigator 
• — who had come on from England, and who joined us after 
the fourth seance. At this seance, again, the phenomena were 
comparatively weak, and did not commence until a longer 
period had elapsed than at any previous sitting. We did 
not find, therefore, that mere numbers added anything to the 
production of the phenomena — even when those attending 
were personal friends of the medium and entirely in sym- 
pathy with her and her methods. 

We seemed to find, on the contrary, that physical contact 
helped the production of phenomena, and that forming the 
"chain," as she expresses it, stimulated their production on 
more than one occasion. Thus, to quote one instance, we 
had asked Eusapia to fetch one of the musical instruments 
out of the cabinet and have it brought on to the seance table. 
Her hands were at that moment free, but visible to us, rest- 
ing upon the table. She lifted her hands, and made gestures 
with them toward the curtain, but nothing resulted. After 
various attempts she suddenly cried: "The chain! the 
chain!" and grasped our hands, making us join hands all 
around the table. After a few seconds she again raised her 
hand toward the curtains, held in one of ours and again made 
gestures. This time the instrument inside the cabinet came 
out with a rush and landed upon the seance table. 

Usually the phenomena are more abundant on the left- 
hand side of Eusapia than on the right, but this only agrees 
with what we should suppose a priori — inasmuch as Eusapia 
is left-handed. This fact is, therefore, open to the double in- 
terpretation ( 1 ) that she can more easily produce fraudulent 



Eusapia Palladino 327 

phenomena with the left hand, and (2) that the "force," 
whatever it is, is more abundant on the left side. The duty 
of the controller on that side is, therefore, the more respon- 
sible of the two, and in our seances we took it in turn to con- 
trol this side, so as to check one another's sensations of con- 
tact, pressure, and observation. In every case our conclu- 
sions agreed, so that we felt in the end morally certain that 
none of us had been mistaken, but that genuine phenomena 
did, in fact, occur more abundantly on this side than on the 
other. 

Of course the question will be asked — and it is a perfectly 
legitimate question — if Eusapia can produce genuine phenom- 
ena, why is it that she ever cheats at all and thus leave her- 
self open to attack from skeptical critics because of this ? To 
the average healthy mind, it would appear a paradox that 
this should be so, and the majority would prefer to believe 
that Eusapia invariably cheats, and that all the phenomena 
occurring in her presence are necessarily fraudulent. 

I can quite appreciate this attitude — one that I myself as- 
sumed before attending my sittings. I could not easily believe 
that the same medium could be both fraudulent and genuine 
and preferred to believe in the former alternative. In spite of 
the fact that I could not account for many of the phenomena 
recorded, I still inwardly believed that there must be some 
error somewhere, which, if discovered, would serve to ex- 
plain the facts. Only personal sittings can remove this a 
priori objection, which I now regard as worthless and con- 
clusively disproved by the facts in the case. 

The question still remains, however: Why does Eusapia 
cheat? I believe that she does this sometimes simply and 
solely because of her love of mischief. She delights in seeing 
onlookers mystified at the phenomena produced through her 



328 Eusapia Palladino 

mediumship, and when she is in a trance state she remembers 
very little of what takes place, and, as it were, misses all 
the fun ! But when she is in a normal state and can observe 
what is going on, she will try fraudulently to produce phe- 
nomena simply and solely for the love of the thing. Still, 
I admit that this is but a small part of the reason. Some of 
it is doubtless premeditated fraud — intended to deceive her 
sitters, and which she would pass off as genuine phenomena 
if she could. But I am convinced that the great majority of 
her fraudulent phenomena are produced in a semitrance con- 
dition, and that she is unaware of her movements. The fact 
that she is in a state bordering on trance, and the definite 
proof that amnesia is present a great part of the time, allows 
us to assume that Eusapia does not know many of her move- 
ments while in the trance state; and the statement that she 
feels a strong desire to produce the phenomenon with her 
own hand, immediately before it takes place, coupled with 
the convulsive twitchings of her hands and body as a whole, 
at the moment of the occurrence of the phenomenon — all 
these facts point, it seems to me, to a spasmodic reflex action 
on the part of the medium rather than to deliberate fraud. 
There is a strong impulse to produce phenomena, and, if she 
is not restrained, she will endeavor to produce them in a 
perfectly normal manner. But if she is restrained, genuine 
phenomena will result — as we repeatedly ascertained. 

It is true that there are certain suspicious circumstances 
that crop up from time to time, while hardly a seance elapses 
without the investigators having to ascertain by the sense 
of touch, and by that of sight, that they are in reality holding 
the hands of the medium. Eusapia insists upon more or less 
darkness, especially as the seance proceeds, when the more 
important phenomena are witnessed. Almost invariably, too, 



Eusapia Palladino 329 

the phenomena originate within the cabinet, instead of out- 
side it. But rarely do phenomena take place in good light, 
outside the curtains; and when they do they are almost in- 
variably telekinetic in character and of a simple nature. 

Why this cabinet ? Why darkness ? It must be admitted 
that it would be far more satisfactory if both of these condi- 
tions were done away with; but we must submit to them 
with as good grace as possible. The medium says that the 
cabinet is necessary in order to concentrate and hold the 
magnetic fluid which emanates from her person, and which 
the spirits use for the production of the phenomena. Of 
course this may be due, largely, to auto-suggestion. All me- 
diums use cabinets, and Eusapia thinks she must have one, 
too. But there is ground for supposing that there is a good 
deal of truth in this assumption. In the first place, it would 
seem that the medium's statement must be given some weight 
— since she might be supposed to know how she feels and 
what conditions stimulate the phenomena better than out- 
siders possibly can. In the next place, we have frequently 
noticed that the nearer the cabinet curtains the medium can 
get, the stronger are the phenomena, and the more abundant 
and convincing. Most of the phenomena originate from 
within the cabinet, so that, on any hypothesis, we can safely 
say that it stimulates their production — no matter w T hat view 
we hold of the phenomena themselves. 

All mediums insist on certain "conditions," which, they 
assert, are necessary for the production of their phenomena. 
Darkness is one of these necessary conditions, apparently, for 
the production of physical manifestations. Why should this 
be so? It must be admitted that it is usually insisted upon 
for the reason that it renders possible trickery of all kinds. 
Fraud is easily possible in the dark — trickery of a kind which 



330 Eusapia Palladino 

light would successfully disclose and reveal. But why should 
genuine mediums insist upon this condition? To tell the 
truth, it is not positively known why this should be so ; but 
various theories have been advanced, and numerous mediums 
have made a declaration, stating exactly why this should be 
the case. They say that light is a very disruptive agent, pos- 
sessing fine, yet powerful influences, and that, when one is 
dealing with such subtle forces and conditions as one is in a 
seance, light must be excluded, for the reason that it de- 
stroys the subtle forces produced, and disintegrates the forms 
that would otherwise materialize. 

Is there any truth in this assertion ? Is there any warrant 
for such an assumption? To tell the truth, there is. Let 
us take a simple analogy, which has often been used. Sensi- 
tive plates, used in photography, cannot be exposed to the 
light before the picture is taken ; if they were, they would be 
ruined, and the photograph spoiled. Darkness is necessary, 
it is one of the "conditions" required by every photographer 
for obtaining a successful photograph. And it may be so 
here. Light rays are now known to be very destructive to 
some forms of animal life and to human protoplasm; if too 
long continued, they are extremely energetic, and liable to 
disintegrate and disrupt any excessively fine and subtle body. 
That being the case, we are certainly entitled to take into 
consideration these requests of the medium, and we may con- 
sider her statements well founded — provided the imposed 
conditions do not permit the possibility of fraud. And I 
may say, that in Eusapia's case, this was nearly always pre- 
cluded by the amount of light allowed. In her case, during 
the greater part of the seance, sufficient light was always 
present to allow us clearly to see her hands, as well as feel 
them in ours, resting on the table. Although the light was 



Eusapia Palladino 331; 

lowered, it was at no time completely extinguished ; and dur- 
ing the greater part of the seance, it was very good, allow- 
ing us to see everything in the room with the greatest clear- 
ness and precision. 

While the lesser phenomena seem to be directly under the 
control of Eusapia's will, the more important phenomena 
are certainly dictated and are brought about by intelligences 
other than that of the medium herself. Eusapia believes 
that "John King," her supposed control, officiates at her 
seances, and is responsible for most of the more important 
phenomena. 

This "John King" is said to be the brother of Crookes* 
Katie King, and to have been Eusapia's father in another 
existence. It is John who speaks when Eusapia is in her 
trance; when he speaks of her he calls her "my daughter," 
and gives advice about the care of her person and her life. 
M. Ochorowicz thinks this John is a personality created in 
the mind of Eusapia by the union of a certain number of 
impressions collected in the different psychic environments in 
which her life has been passed. 

Writing of Eusapia's phenomena, and her psychology, Sig- 
nor Angelo Marzorati, Editor of Luce e Ombra, says: 

"During the first part of them (the sittings), she keeps up 
a lively conversation, interspersed with witticisms, when she 
finds that she is among friends. She rarely goes into com- 
plete trance, and only toward the end of the sitting is she 
overtaken by a semitrance, characterized by an incoherent 
babbling and a strongly marked alteration of her counte- 
nance; but more often her face seems to acquire a glassy 
clearness, as though something extra human were watching 
within her. Sometimes, in pursuit of the phenomena, by 
the pale gleam which came from the antechamber, I caught 
the watchful keen glance of the witch, and had the impres- 



332 Eusapia Palladino 

sion that of all those present, believers or skeptics, she was 
the one who had the greatest presence of mind; that she 
dominated all the rest, with the full power of the unknown 
which is within and about us. . . . 

"Although rarely, Palladino falls into a truly feminine 
languor and calls upon her John: 'Come, my father, comeT 
Her voice then trembles with a strange and feeling passion; 
one feels behind the curtain the presence of someone; shadows 
flit rapidly between the curtains, raising the outer edges, and 
sometimes stopping long enough for us to see the characteris- 
tic features. I remember also clearly, at a distance of two 
years, the diaphanous figure and sweet face of 'Katie'; and 
I also remember those black shadows of various forms and 
densities which, in a sitting at Genoa, came right up to my 
face, and which seemed mere empty appearances, for they 
offered no solid resistance. I remember also how I once 
stood erect, holding both Eusapia's hands firmly on the table 
in my left hand, and introduced my right into the open- 
ing of the curtains, where, at a height of more than two 
yards, which my stature allowed me to reach, it was shaken 
by a vigorous and gigantic hand. Palladino was seated 
and I standing and no deception was possible. . . . An- 
other time, while I was standing outside the chain, iso- 
lated and at least two yards from Eusapia, to my great 
surprise an electric lamp was repeatedly lighted, of which 
I had the switch in my pocket — I say repeatedly because, 
being placed on my guard by the first lighting, I was 
a more careful and conscientious observer the second 
time. 

"I ought to say that, at the close of the sitting, Palladino 
is exhausted, done up, even more than other mediums. She 
looks round savagely, like a wounded animal, and clutches 
at the objects round her, as though attracted by them; at 
other times she has fits of weeping, of which she feels the 
effects the next day. Not unfrequently, when in this state, 
she is impelled to simulate a few phenomena, but in so 
childish a manner as to render it doubtful whether she is 
aware of it. . . ." 



Eusapia Palladino 333 

Some have thought that they noticed that Eusapia pre- 
pared herself, consciously, or unconsciously, at the seance, 
by diminishing the respiration — a very singular thing. At 
the same time her pulse gradually rises from 88 to 120 pul- 
sations a minute. Is this a practice analogous to that which 
the fakirs of India employ, or a simple effect of the emotions 
which, before every seance, Eusapia experiences? — a fact 
which has a strong tendency to convince the sitters, but is 
never sure of the production of the phenomena. 

Eusapia is not hypnotized; she herself enters into the 
trance state when she becomes a link in the chain of hands. 
She begins to sigh deeply, then yawns and hiccoughs. A 
series of varied expressions passes over her face. Sometimes 
it takes on a demoniacal look, accompanied by a fitful laugh 
(very much like that which Gounod gives to Mephistopheles 
in the opera of "Faust") which almost always precedes an 
important phenomenon. Sometimes her face flushes ; the eyes 
become brilliant and liquid, and are opened wide. The smile 
and the emotions are a mark of the erotic ecstasy. She says 
"mio caro" ("my dear"), leans her head upon the shoulder 
of her neighbor, and courts caresses when she believes that 
he is sympathetic. It is at this point that phenomena are 
produced, the success of which causes her agreeable and even 
voluptuous thrills. During this time her legs and her arms 
are in a state of marked tension, almost rigid, or even under- 
go convulsive contractions. Sometimes a tremor goes through 
her entire body. 

To these states of nervous superactivity succeeds a period 
of depression, characterized by an almost corpselike pale- 
ness of the face (which is frequently covered with perspira- 
tion) and an almost complete inertia of her limbs. If she 
lifts her hand, it falls back of its own weight. 



334 Eusapia Palladino 

During the trance her eyes are turned up and only the 
white is visible. Her presence of mind and her general 
consciousness are diminished, or not at all in evidence. She 
gives no reply, or if she does, her reply is retarded by ques- 
tions. Eusapia has no recollection of what has taken place 
during the seances, except for states of mind bordering close 
on those of her normal state; and, consequently, they only 
relate, as a general thing, to phenomena of slight intensity. 

In order to aid in the manifestations, she frequently asks 
that her force be increased by putting one person in the 
chain. It has frequently happened to her to address a sym- 
pathetic spectator, to take his fingers and press them as if to 
draw something out of them, then push them abruptly away, 
saying that she has enough force. 

In proportion as her trance increases, her sensibility to 
light increases. A sudden light causes difficulty in her breath- 
ing, rapid beatings of her heart, an hysterical feeling, gen- 
eral irritation of the nerves, pain in the head and eyes and 
a trembling of the whole body, with convulsions — except 
when she herself asks for light (a thing which frequently 
happens to her when there are interesting verifications to be 
made upon the subject of displaced objects), for then her 
attention is strongly called in other directions. 

She is in constant motion during the active period of 
many of the seances. These movements may be attributed 
to the hysterical crises which then agitate her; but they 
appear to be necessary to the production of the phenomena. 
Every time that a movement is being caused at a distance 
she imitates it, either with her hands or with her feet, and 
by developing a much stronger force than would be neces- 
sary for producing the movement by contact. 

During and after the levitations of the table, she has a 



Eusapia Palladino 335 

feeling of pain in her knees; during and after other phe- 
nomena, in her elbows and all through her arms. 

Here is what she herself says of her impressions when she 
wishes to produce a movement at a distance. She suddenly 
experiences an ardent desire to produce the phenomenon; then 
she has a feeling of numbness and the gooseflesh sensation 
in her fingers; these sensations keep increasing. At the same 
time she feels in the inferior portion of the vertebral column 
the flowing of a current which rapidly extends into her arm 
as far as her elbow, where it is gently arrested. It is at this 
point that the phenomenon takes place. 

It would appear to me that the above statement explains, 
in part at least, much of Eusapia's fraud. Here there is the 
wish, amounting to a strong desire, to produce the phenome- 
non by normal means; and this desire would naturally find, 
or attempt to find, motor expression, in the release of one 
hand, and in the shooting out of that hand automatically, 
toward the object. These desires doubtless produce abortive 
muscular twitchings and movements, which, by a hyper- 
critical investigator, might be interpreted as attempts on her 
part to release a hand or a foot, and with it produce the 
phenomenon fraudulently. But we repeatedly found that if 
she were checked from doing so, and the hand or the foot 
securely held, genuine phenomena would result and the ob- 
ject be moved by an exteriorization of motor force. It would 
find actuality just as (to use an analogy) a visualized thought 
might, under certain conditions, become externalized in the 
mind as a full-blown hallucination — having all the appear- 
ance of reality. 

Whatever the interpretation of the facts, however, I re- 
gard it as certain that they are established, and that they 



336 Eusapia Palladino 

should, in consequence, be studied by men and by societies 
interested in natural knowledge. It need hardly be pointed 
out that if but one or two of the facts asserted to occur at 
Eusapia's seances ultimately prove to be facts, they are of 
the utmost possible importance to science — necessitating, as 
they would, reconstructions and enlargements of the present- 
day view, upon an unprecedented scale. Nevertheless, the 
facts, I am fully convinced, do occur ; and that is the opinion, 
also, of a large number of scientific men in Europe who have 
studied Eusapia for a number of years. I think, therefore, 
that Eusapia should be brought to America, and studied 
here, by a commission of scientific investigators — as she has 
been studied in the past in England, France, Italy, Russia, 
and elsewhere. Eusapia is yet alive, and it is not too late 
to reverify, or to discredit, the facts. Fresh sittings are 
constantly being held, and each body of investigators leaves 
under the distinct impression that it has seen genuine physi- 
cal phenomena of a supernormal character. Should not these 
opinions be checked, and the argument settled one way or 
the other before Eusapia dies ? As a matter of fact, I think 
the case has practically been settled — for all unbiased students 
of the records ; but further and more conclusive tests should 
doubtless be performed, since it is impossible to establish too 
thoroughly facts which are of such great moment to science. 
It is earnestly hoped that sufficient money and sufficient in- 
terest will soon be raised in this country to bring Eusapia 
to America, and to study her by means of a long series of 
experiments; and, when once the facts have been established 
(as I feel certain they would be), to begin a scientific investi- 
gation — physical, mental, and possibly spiritual — of the me- 
dium and her phenomena. Certain it is that the present state 
of things is a disgrace to science — particularly in a country 



Eusapia Palladino 337 

which boasts of its wealth, its progress, and its openminded- 
ness! I cannot do better than quote, in this connection, the 
words of Professor Sidgwick, who, in his first presidential 
address before the Society for Psychical Research, delivered 
July 17, 1882, said: 

"Why form a Society for Psychical Research at all at 
this time — including in its scope not merely the phenomena 
of thought reading, but also those of clairvoyance and mes- 
merism, and the mass of obscure phenomena commonly 
known as Spiritualistic? Well, in answering this, the first 
question, I shall be able to say something upon which I 
hope we all agree — meaning by 'we,' not merely those who 
are in this room, but we and the scientific world outside; 
and as, unfortunately, I have but few observations to make 
on which so much agreement can be hoped for, it may be 
well to bring this into prominence — namely, that we are all 
agreed that the present state of things is a scandal to the 
enlightened age in which we live. That the dispute as to 
the reality of these marvelous phenomena — of which it is 
quite impossible to exaggerate the scientific importance, if 
only a tenth part of what has been alleged by generally 
credible witnesses could be shown to be true — I say it is a 
scandal that the dispute as to the reality of these phenomena 
should still be going on — that so many competent witnesses 
should have declared their belief in them, that so many 
others should be profoundly interested in having the ques- 
tion determined, and yet that the educated world as a body 
should still be simply in the attitude of incredulity." 

Such, it appears to me, is the attitude of the scientific 
world with regard to Eusapia Palladino and her phenomena. 
It is earnestly to be hoped that the time will not be far dis- 
tant when this "scandalous" state of things will no longer 
exist; when scientific men will consent to investigate these 
phenomena; and then, it is to be hoped, Eusapia Palladino 



338 Eusapia Palladino 

will be ranked, not as a vulgar impostor, but as a rarely 
gifted individual, possessing powers worthy of the deep- 
est study and respect; as a delicate and sensitive piece of 
organic machinery, which should be guarded and cared for 
with the utmost kindness and consideration. 



APPENDIX 

In the Annals of Psychical Science, for July-September, 
1909, Mrs. Finch — its late editor — published a ''letter" bit- 
terly attacking Eusapia and her phenomena. Mrs. Finch as- 
serts that very few of them are genuine; that most of her 
sitters are simply deluded or "glamoured" by her mere pres- 
ence; that she succeeds in casting a sort of spell over 
her sitters, merely by reason of the fact that she is a 
woman! She accuses her of "erotic tendencies"; and con- 
cludes that no evidence is of any value in her case unless 
supported by photography. 

I took occasion to reply to this letter at the time — as I 
deemed it not only misleading, but totally false in implica- 
tion and in fact; and I reprint here what I then said: 

A REPLY TO MRS. FINCH'S LETTER OX 
EUSAPIA PALLADIXO 

By Hereward Carrixgtox 

Mrs. Finch's extraordinary letter in the July-September 
Annals deserves more than a passing mention. To many 
minds, doubtless, the letter answers itself, and, reading be- 
tween the lines, one can quite easily surmise some of the mo- 
tives which prompted the writing of so scathing a criticism. 
Nevertheless, it may be well to indicate how baseless are 

339 



340 Eusapia Palladino 

the assertions contained in this contribution to psychical re- 
search ; and to examine her letter in some detail. 

Mrs. Finch is surely unaware of the implications of her 
theory regarding Eusapia's phenomena ; for if she were aware 
of it, she would surely not advance it — at least in public. 
Certain it is that Eusapia has been studied more carefully, 
more exactly, and by a greater number of eminent men than 
any other physical medium who has ever lived. With very 
few exceptions (which can easily be explained) every one 
of these men has been converted to a belief in the reality 
of her phenomena. Now, if it were possible to show that 
after all these years of work, and such a vast amount of re- 
search; if, in spite of all the affirmative testimony in her 
favor, nothing but fraud had been practised, it would deal 
the physical phenomena such a crushing blow that they would 
(probably) never recover from the shock. If nothing super- 
normal really exists, if no genuine phenomena occur in her 
presence, then surely, the case for their occurrence, else- 
where, would be finally and irretrievably ruined — for in no 
other case does the mass and excellence of the testimony in 
their favor equal this. It may fairly be said that the case 
for the physical phenomena stands or falls with this case of 
Eusapia Palladino. 

Mrs. Finch asserts that one faint light, witnessed at one 
seance, was the only genuine phenomenon ever seen by her 
in Eusapia's presence. In view of our own experience with 
this medium, I should be strongly inclined to doubt this state- 
ment. Where are the records of these seances? Who else 
attended the sittings attended by Mrs. Finch? And where 
is their negative evidence? Statements of this sweeping char- 
acter must be supported my proof; we do not want a mere ex 
cathedra pronouncement upon her phenomena. Besides, it 



Eusapia Palladino 341 

must be remembered that this is a mere statement of one per- 
son s experience; and others may have had experiences which 
differ from it. As the reports show, their experiences have 
differed; and no one can read the published reports without 
seeing that Mrs. Finch's explanation — simple fraud — is ludi- 
crously inadequate to account for all the facts. 

What, then, is the root and basis of Mrs. Finch's animos- 
ity? It would seem that this is purely personal — a strong 
antipathy toward Eusapia — which, I may add, is equally 
shared by Eusapia. Mrs. Finch objects to her phenomena be- 
cause, forsooth, she objects to the woman herself! She is 
vulgar, dishonest, etc. On these grounds, and because of 
them, Mrs. Finch cannot believe in her phenomena. One 
can only say: "How like a woman!" (Some women.) For 
science, of course, such reasons are ridiculous. For science, 
it makes not a particle of difference whether a medium is 
ugly or beautiful, whether she washes her neck, whether 
she is vulgar or obscene in her speech or actions; she may 
be all this, and a trickster, a fraud, and absolutely mad. 
The question is: Do physical objects move without contact 
in her presence? That is the only point to be settled. No 
matter how honest a medium may be, we always have to 
assume, for evidential purposes, that she is fraudulent, and 
conduct our experiments with the idea of debarring this pos- 
sibility. Conversely, the medium may be as big a fraud as 
you please, but if the conditions of the experiment prove 
fraud to have been impossible, then we shall have to assume 
that the phenomena are genuine. The personality of the 
medium, in other words, should be quite discounted, and 
should not be allowed to enter at all into the discussion, or 
to the settlement of the main problem: Are her phenomena 
genuine? 



342 Eusapia Palladino 

Mrs. Finch asserts that the few scant phenomena of a 
genuine character are "hidden in a quagmire of deliberate 
fraud." This is precisely the reverse of my own experience. 
I found that but a very small percentage were fraudulent; 
and that the vast bulk of the phenomena were genuine. This 
is also Professor Morselli's experience — who estimates that 
ten per cent, of her phenomena (at the outside) might pos- 
sibly be fraudulent. Besides, if Mrs. Finch was so assured 
that E. P. was nothing but a clever trickster, and that her 
phenomena were fraudulent, why did she continually pub- 
lish accounts of her seances in the Annals? I think that 
some of us would like an explanation of that fact. 

Of course it is very important to study the mentality of 
the sitters at a spiritualistic seance. When such analyses are 
made, what do they reveal? Usually, that the bulk of the 
sitters are so credulous that they are totally incapable of de- 
tecting fraud — had such existed — and that they accept every- 
thing presented in the name of Spiritualism. Among them 
may be found a sprinkling of skeptics or genuine investiga- 
tors. Now, when it comes to a question of fraud and its de- 
tection, we should, of course, be guided, almost entirely, 
by what the latter class has to say about the phenomena — as 
the former is probably very easily suggestible, and see all 
they are supposed to see, and more. Of two descriptions of 
a phenomenon, also, we should select the less marvelous. 
All that being granted, the question arises: Who are to be 
trusted? Whose word is to be taken in a question of this 
character? 

The consensus of opinion is, I think, that conjurers, or 
scientists thoroughly familiar with conjuring, are the best 
judges; and it was for that very reason that our special com- 
mittee — Messrs. Feilding, Baggally, and myself — were asked 



Eusapia Palladino 343 

to undertake the investigation. If any of us had been sug- 
gestible and easily ' 'glamoured," is it not probable — nay, cer- 
tain — that we should have been similarly affected, at least to 
some extent, by other mediums, mostly women, with whom 
we had obtained sittings in the past? Speaking personally, 
I may say that never once had I seen anything but trickery, 
upon the detection of which I bent my whole energies. Some 
of these mediums, I may add, were far younger and more 
"beautiful" than Eusapia, whom, I think I am safe in saying, 
none of us ever thought of for a moment as anything more 
than a "case" — and at first, possibly, a clever trickster. On 
no occasion did we ever detect any such "erotic tendencies" as 
Mrs. Finch describes — and as other authors, too, have re- 
marked. Not the slightest symptoms were ever noticed by 
any of us, I am safe to say. Eusapia did not touch us in 
any close manner until the fifth or sixth seance. Besides, 
none of us were in any sense emotional men; precisely the 
reverse. Further, as I said before, how was it that no one 
of us had ever been similarly affected by any other medium 
with whom we had ever sat? Speaking personally, I may 
say that I have sat for hours and hours with mediums alone 
and in the dark — and never once did I feel any peculiar 
symptoms — never once was I influenced in the slightest de- 
gree; never once did I see anything but trickery; never was 
there a hallucination ! ( See my report on "Lily Dale," Pro- 
ceedings Amer. S. P. R., Vol. II, pp. 1-119.) 

The introduction into this discussion of stories of what 
Eusapia did when she was 16 has nothing whatever to do with 
the problem before us. As I have said before, the sole ques- 
tion for science is: Can she move objects without contact? 
That is the question to be settled, and it has nothing more 
to do with her past career than with the spots on the sun. 



344 Eusapia Palladino 

One can obviously see, here, that the criticism has degen- 
erated from a scientific to a personal one. Mrs. Finch is 
totally wrong in saying that "nothing of an indisputably 
genuine nature occurs in the light." That may have been her 
experience ; it certainly was not ours. As our Report abun- 
dantly shows, a large number of phenomena — and even the 
very best phenomena — occurred in a good light — light suf- 
ficiently good to read the small print of a Baedeker. What 
is one to say, therefore? Obviously, that Mrs. Finch's 
statements are totally incorrect, and that a large num- 
ber of genuine phenomena do occur in light sufficient to 
enable us to see the whole of the medium's body quite 
clearly. 

Mrs. Finch speaks of "the medium's body being in perpet- 
ual movement — her hands, arms, legs, and body are scarcely 
ever still when phenomena are being produced. . . ." Noth- 
ing of the sort occurred in our seances. At first — particularly 
in bad seances — a certain amount of movement and restless- 
ness was noted, I admit (who could sit for three or four 
hours without moving a muscle?), but in the best seances 
there was scarcely any movement at all. Note this : the bet- 
ter the phenomena, the less the movement. Precisely the re- 
verse of this should be the case on Mrs. Finch's theory. But 
I must emphatically insist that, during the best seances — and 
particularly during the production of the best phenomena — 
Eusapia scarcely moved a muscle, but submitted herself to the 
very fullest control, and her hands and feet were held im- 
passively in ours. There was no attempt at movement, far 
less at substitution, as our Report will show. Our experi- 
ence on this point, therefore, formally and explicitly con- 
tradicts that of Mrs. Finch, and shows it to be quite incorrect 
from the point of view of fact. 



Eusapia Palladino 345 

Mrs. Finch asserts that Eusapia selects her controllers with 
great care — choosing those whom she can influence — and that 
these sitters are consequently incapable of a trustworthy- 
report of the existing control. Now as to the first point, 
everyone knows this is absolutely false; Eusapia does not 
choose her sitters, but the experimenters control her them- 
selves. Occasionally, she asks that certain sitters change 
places, that a new control be established, e.g., in order to 
supply a better "current." But this is comparatively rare, 
and the request is not always granted. Certain it is that 
Eusapia could have had no choice in our first three sittings, 
since only two of us were present! As to our being partic- 
ularly suggestible, I should like to ask the mediums — men 
and women — with whom we had previously sat, whether 
they considered us so ! I think our previous records in psychic 
experimentation would answer that question. 

Now a word as to the value of photographs. Mrs. Finch 
contends that "no man's account of her phenomena should 
be accepted — no matter who he may be — unless he can cor- 
roborate his account with photographs." In the first place, 
these phenomena have often been so corroborated. Photo- 
graphs of levitations and other phenomena have been taken 
time and time again, and, so far as photographs can prove 
anything, these phenomena have been proved thereby. But 
I must contend (in direct opposition to Mrs. Finch) that 
photography can very rarely afford any valuable corroboration 
whatever. Generally, it is quite useless for establishing the 
reality of a phenomenon — though it might often disclose 
fraud. It can prove what is there, but not what is not there. 
I have insisted upon this several times before, in discussing 
these phenomena. Thus, in reviewing M. Flammarion's 
book, Mysterious Psychic Forces, in the Journal, Amer. 



346 Eusapia Palladino 

S. P. R., Vol. II, pp. 471-91, long before I had had sit- 
tings with E. P.j I wrote: 

". . . All photographs are open to this fundamental ob- 
jection. They give us a picture, merely, of what is actually 
happening at any one time, without telling us the preceding 
actions of the medium and others present, leading up to that 
event. . . . The worthlessness of photographic records is evi- 
denced by the fact that on page 113 of Around the World 
with a Magician and a Juggler, there is a photograph of a 
table levitated by fraudulent means — it is impossible to see 
how." 

This, it may be added, is also the opinion of Sir Oliver 
Lodge, who wrote (Proceedings S. P. R., Vol. X, p. 23) : 

"For myself, I would prefer to trust my own observation 
rather than any amount of second-hand information, fortified 
by the assurance of any number of Kodaks." 

It will thus be seen that photographs, so far from furnish- 
ing final and conclusive evidence — as Mrs. Finch contends 
is the case — are practically worthless for establishing the 
reality or supernormal character of these phenomena. So 
far from being the best — and in fact the only — means of 
satisfactorily proving the reality of the phenomena, it is a 
totally inadequate method — one open to many objections, from 
the evidential point of view, and proving nothing, in the 
majority of cases, when successful! 

A word more and I have done. Mrs. Finch has obviously 
gone out of her way to attack a woman who can neither read 
nor write, and who is, consequently, unable to defend her- 
self in a controversy of this character. Those who know her 
should, therefore, enter the lists for her, and fight her bat- 
tles. Mrs. Finch has made the attack a personal one, and 



Eusapia Palladino 347 

has thereby laid herself open for just such replies as this — 
and indeed far more severe ones which I trust may be forth- 
coming from other quarters. Moreover, she has quite aban- 
doned the scientific attitude in the matter, and thus forever 
after denied herself the right to a serious hearing in all 
matters scientific or psychic. The scientific problem is again 
and again mixed with and governed by the personal animus, 
as is shown over and over again, throughout her article. I 
regret to say that this attitude has also been adopted (un- 
consciously, doubtless) by other investigators, as her quota- 
tion from Professor Morselli shows. The question we should 
ask ourselves is not, "Can a soul so pure breathe in so foul 
an atmosphere?" but does it? If the facts prove that to be 
the case, we shall have to accept them, no matter whether 
we care to or not. It is a question of fact; not of emotion 
and belief. The inanity of the greater part of "spirit com- 
munications" would seem to prove that the majority of the 
inhabitants of the next world are little better than lunatics. 
Yet, as Dr. Hyslop has so well pointed out and insisted upon : 

"We have to accept the life to come, if it be a fact, with- 
out any ability to escape it, and its degenerated nature would 
not affect the evidence for the fact of it. Its being a mad- 
house or an asylum for idiots would not weaken the evidence 
for its existence." 

The majority are incapable of divorcing their sentiments 
from their judgment, and allow the mind to be swayed by 
the emotions. Such persons should not investigate psychical 
matters : they are totally unfitted to be scientific investigators. 
Only those who are prepared to admit the facts, no matter 
where they may lead, and who feel no personal interest in 
the problem, one way or the other — these are the only per- 



348 Eusapia Palladino 

sons who should devote themselves seriously to psychic in- 
vestigation and research. 

In conclusion, I wish to say that this reply does not in- 
volve either of my colleagues, or the opinion of anyone but 
myself. However certain I might feel that I have their 
moral support in this reply, I wish it to be distinctly 
understood that my reply to Mrs. Finch comes entirely from 
myself, and is prompted solely by the desire to defend an 
absent and helpless woman, who, in spite of adverse criticism, 
possesses many good qualities, and a more straightforward 
and honest soul, perhaps — in spite of her petty trickery — 
than some of her scoffers and critics. 



INDEX 



Accordion playing, 46 
Action at a distance, 314-15 
Aggazzotti, Dr., 100-108 
Aksakof, Count, 29, 274, 275 
Arm, doubling of, 117 
Armelin, M., 70-71 
Ascensi, M., 28, 29 
Astral double, theory of, 268, 

270 
Audenino, Dr., 89-100 
Auto-hypnosis, 307 

Baggally, W. W., 152, 153, 157, 

168-239 
Barisso, M., 139-140 
Barzini, Dr., 84, 85, 86 
Bell incident, 228-231 
Blech, M., 61, 62-67 
Bottazzi, Professor, 109-118, 

138, 188, 190, 191-192 
Bozzano, Dr., 145-147 
Breeze, cold. See Cold Breeze. 
Buffern, Professor, 30 

Cabinet, construction of, 158- 

159 

reasons for, 329-330 
Carrara, Mme. Paola, 20, 21- 

Carreras, Dr. H., 75 
Chalet incident, 48 



Chiaia, Professor, 28, 59, 66 
Ciolfi, M., 28 

Clairvoyance, question of, 309 
Clay, impressions in, 66 
Clinical study of the medium, 

280-281, 304-309 
Cold breeze at seances, 198- 

199, 205 
Collective consciousness, theory 

of, 271 _ 
Communications, question of, 

308-309 
Consciousness, collective. See 

Collective, 
modifications of, 307 
Control of medium, question of, 

155-157, I59-I67 
Courtier, Jules, 129-134 
Crawford, Misses, 213 
Crookes, Sir William, 6, 41-44 
Curie, Mme., 129, 130, 131 

Dariex, Dr., 57, 58, 61 
Darkness, reasons for, 329-331 
d'Arsonval, M., 129, 132 
Davis, Andrew Jackson, 7 
Debierne, Dr., 130 
de Fontenay, G., 62, 63-67, 275 
de Grammont, Count, 57, 75 
de Rochas, Colonel Albert, 34, 
57> 5 8 > 2 68 > 269 



349 



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• h 

y -..•. ->. 
y.y .-:■ . 
y • 



V;::- ; -'.--;; : 
: ;: ;.. ; 5 
F .;:-;::. . 
!:—:::::, Fro: 
Evil spin- :- 






. ::> 



- 



. I . 

J .. ;/:: Fr~V>>~. ::*:-: :>, 

H . : : ; ; 

J .- > -.- .-. - ■ . ? . . ; : - 

y . .-« ..-;/ 

y .-». - - 

G ■ . '■'. . :>. HJ 

y » « . : y : . ; ~ : 

HalL Gilman, nS-ia6 

; : ..: . : v.: . - ir.d :r.;:.v::;;y.-. 

.-■'. 14^- 
:>_:. :>- 
H^rtr.-^r.r F v— . :~j. 
: y : - . : > . : >>: ^ F . . F\ .< - 

>; ;-; 
H; ::L:. y : . :.v-::> 
H: -.: .:•. :>. 241 
Hodgson, Dr R -57 

Home, D. D., 5,, 6, 10. 41-44 
: : ..-.---. Mrs : :: 235-23S 
:> : :• ; . "' ■ 

•? " J H.. 54; 



y .; ----_- : J - :. ::. r;- 


... .-:.:.. ;-.'-.--;-.•.. 


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Illusions rjr. Hallucinations, 


y-. y- :h-:s. :--::> 

y : : ; ; ; - F ; . :::--.: 5 


Imoda, Dr., So-ioo, 319 
Independent writing. Sst Writ- 
ing. 

_r:::-;~..:: . ■■ .::. . :::;::;• ~. 

; : : 


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";'--- x -^ ;_ ; ;: 


re^sc-s :::. ;:--::;. 


;r. ;;. 5;, 152, 


33S 


*53 



Index 



3S 1 



Key incident, 49-50 

Laboratory, psychical, require- 
ments for, 51 

Language unknown to the medi- 
um, spoken by phantom, 
284 

Le Bocain, M., 71 

LeBon, Dr., 69-70 

Left-handedness, transference 
of, 279 

Levitation of table, definition 
of, 168 

Levy, Arthur, 68, 69 

Life, nature of, 297 

Light, amount of, 168 

Lodge, Sir Oliver, 33, 38-51, 
52, 272, 273, 297 

Lombroso, Cesare, 28-29, 35, 
89-100, 137, 267, 278-281, 
304-306 

Lucidity, question of, 309 

Luminous paint, as a test, 265 

Mangin, M. Marcel, 61, 69, 

271 
Marzorati, Angelo, 331-332 
Maskelyne, John Nevil, 53 
Materialism, 14, 289-291 
Maxwell, Dr. J., 17, 55-57, 57- 

58, 271 
Medium, psychological condi- 
tion of. See Psychological 
Condition. 
Meeson, Albert, 169 
Mind and body, connection of, 

293-296 
Moody, Dr. Herbert R., 126- 
129 



Morselli, Prof. Enrico, 72, 73, 
74, 75-89, 135, 136, 138, 
145,149,150,250,251,277, 
278, 306-309 
Moses, William Stainton, 10 
Mucchi, Dr., 94, 97-100 
Myers, F. W. H., 33, 38-50, 52, 
53> 55, 274 

Objections to phenomena, 12, 

13, 14-18 
Ochorowicz, J., 33, 34, 36-38, 

38-50, 52, 268, 317-318 

Perovsky- Petrovo-Solovovo, 

Count, 54, 55 
Personifications, question of, 

308 
Personnel of our committee, 

153-155 

Phantoms, teleplastic. See Tel- 
eplastic Phantoms. 

Phenomena, classification of, 
291-292 

Phenomena, conditions for pro- 
duction of, 325-327 

Phenomena, list of, 75-77 

Phenomena, progression of. See 
Progression. 

Phenomena, theory of, 313- 

318 

Photographic plate incident, 
105 

Photography and hallucination, 
62 

Photography, value of, as evi- 
dence, 265, 266, 345-346 

Piper, Mrs., 1, 2, 5, 291 

Podmore, F., 7, 9 



35* 



Index 



Poltergeist cases, 301 

Porro, Professor, 72-74, 135, 

136-137, 268 
Prejudice, question of, 347-348 
Progression of phenomena, 321- 

322 
Psychic force, theory of, 267 
Psychode, theory of, 267 
Psycho-dynamism, theory of, 

271 

Psychological condition of medi- 
um, 311-314 

Psychological condition of sit- 
ters, 310-31 1 

Rabagliati, Dr. A., 296 
Radiations, human, 269 
Radioactivity of the medium, 

108, 319 
Ramorino, Mme., 283 
Reality of the phenomena, 246 
Reflection, theory of, 277 
Reflex action, theory of, 276, 

V7 
Richet, Prof. Charles, 29, 32- 

33> 35> 38-50, 52, 130, 
131 
Ryan, Mr., 213, 214, 215, 217, 
229, 230, 232 

Sabatier, Prof., 57, 58 
Samona, Dr. Carmelo, 74-75 
Schiaparelli, Professor, 29, 30- 

3i 
Schmolz, M., 139 
Schrenck-Notzing, Baron von, 

35 
Seance room, 158, 159 
Seances, general run of, 310 



Searching medium, 206 
Sensibility, extern alization of. 

See Internalization. 
Sidgwick, Mrs., S3> 40, 53y 250- 

258 
Sidgwick, Professor, 33, 40, 53, 

?37 
Siemiradski, M., 34 
Sitters, psychological condition 

of. See Psychological 

Condition. 
Smashed table incident, 106- 

. }° 7 
Spirits, evil. See Evil Spirits. 

Spirits, theory of, 267-268 

Spiritualism, growth of, 7 

Subconsciousness, theory of, 

274 
Substitution of hands, question 

of, 182-184, 188-189, 206- 

207, 244-266 
Sudeley, Lord, 213 
Suggestibility, question of, 307- 

308 
Sully-Prudhomme, M., 61 

Tamburini, Professor, 28, 29 
Telepathy, question of, 309 
Teleplastic phantoms, theory 

of, 278 
Theory of phenomena, 313- 

.318 

Third arm, theory of, 71-72 
Trance, nature of, 333-334 
Trance, question of, 305, 307 
Transformation of forces, 267 

Unconscious, the, theory of, 274, 

275 



Index 



353 



Vassallo, M., 140-141, 142-143, Wagner, Professor, 33, 34 



144 
Venzano, Dr. Joseph, 134, 138- 

i39> Ho, i45> H7» l 5h 
283,284 
Visani-Scozzi, Dr. Paolo, ^, 

?9 
Vitality, nature of, 296-299 
Vizioli, M., 28 



Wallace, Alfred Russel, 267 
Weight, loss of, 30-31 
Writing, independent, 45, 48- 
49 

Yourievitch, M., 129, 131 
Zingaropoli, M., 233, 237 



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